Coordination and oxidative addition of octafluoronaphthalene at a nickel centre: isolation of an intermediate in C–F bond activation

Abstract

Reaction of [Ni(COD)₂] with PEt₃ and octafluoronaphthalene yielded the complex [Ni(η²-1,2-C₁₀F₈)(PEt₃)₂] 1, which was converted thermally into the C–F activation product trans-[NiF(2-C₁₀F₇)(PEt₃)₂] 2. The crystal structure of 1 shows asymmetric η² coordination with significant distortions of the naphthalene unit compared to the “ free” ligand; DFT calculations reproduce the principal features of the geometry.