New insights into the mechanism of methane formation in the protonation of methyl complexes†

Abstract

The reaction between [NiMe{(Ph₂PCH₂CH₂)₂PPh}]⁺ and anhydrous HCl (in MeCN) involves initial protonation of nickel to form [Ni(H)Me{(Ph₂PCH₂CH₂)₂PPh}]²⁺, but methane is not produced until after additional, direct protonation of the methyl group.

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