Molecular insight into the non-innocence of a silica-support: the structure of a platinum–silsesquioxane derivative

Abstract

The cyclooctadiene ligand within the square planar Pt(II) complex [PtCl₂(C₈H₁₂)] undergoes nucleophilic attack from a siloxo group of the thallated polyhedral silsesquioxane [(c-C₅H₉)₇Si₇O₉ (OSiMe₃)(OTl)₂], to yield [(c-C₅H₉)₁₄Si₁₄O ₁₈(OSiMe₃)₂O₄(η⁴ -C₈H₁₂)PtTl₂]; given the analogy between the silsesquioxane moiety and a silica surface, the presence of an SiO–C bond between the siloxo-cage and the Pt-bound olefinic ring is significant in the context of surface non-innocence in heterogeneous catalysis.