Hydroxymethyl bis(phosphines) and their palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes formed via biphasic reactions. Crystal structure of [Pd{(HOH2C)2PC6H4P(CH2OH)2}2]Cl2

Abstract

The water-soluble bis(phosphines) 1,2-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)phosphino]benzene and 1,2-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)phosphino]ethane were synthesized in near-quantitative yields by the catalytic formylation of H₂PC₆H₄PH₂ and H₂PCH₂CH₂PH₂ in the presence of formaldehyde in aqueous media. Their reactions with cis-[Pt(cod)Cl₂](cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene) and cis-[Pd(PhCN)₂Cl₂] produced water-soluble complexes [M{(HOH₂C)₂PC₆H₄P(CH₂OH)₂}₂]Cl₂(M = Pt 1 or Pd 2) and [Pd{(HOH₂C)₂PCH₂CH₂P(CH₂OH)₂}₂]Cl₂3, respectively. All the compounds were characterized by ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. The structure of 2 was confirmed by X-ray crystallography.