Nickel complexes of a binucleating ligand derived from an SCS pincer

Abstract

A binucleating ligand has been prepared that contains an SCS pincer and three oxygen donor atoms in a partial crown ether loop. To enable metalation with Ni⁰, a bromoarene precursor was used and resulted in the formation of a nickel–bromide complex in the SCS pincer portion of the ligand. Reaction of the nickel complex with a lithium salt yielded a heterobimetallic complex with bromide bridging the two metal centers. The solid-state structures were determined for this heterobimetallic complex and the nickel–bromide precursor, and the two complexes were characterized electrochemically to determine the influence of coordinating the second metal.