Complex pseudohalides

Pseudohalides of Se in which the role of halogen is played by cyanide, thiocyanate or selenocyanate are known and, in the case of Se are much more stable with respect to disproportionation than are the halides themselves. Examples are Se(CN)2, Se2(CN)2, Se(SeCN)2, Se(SCN)2, Se2(SCN)2. The selenocyanate ion SeCN is ambidentate like the thiocyanate ion, etc., p. 325), being capable of ligating to metal centres via either N or Se, as in the osmium(IV) complexes [OsCl5(NCSe)], [OsCl5(SeCN)], and trans-[OsCU(NCSe)(SeCN)]2-.920) Tellurium and polonium pseudohalogen analogues include Te(CN)2 and Po(CN)4 but have been much... 

Other RhX(CO)(PPh3)2 compounds can be made as shown in Figure 2.23 metathesis with an alkali metal halide or pseudohalide is often convenient, but the most versatile route, as with the iridium analogues, is a two-stage process in which the fluoro complex is first prepared, the fluorine then being readily displaced. 

Quite a contrasting effect was found for the solvolysis of sterically hindered palla-dium(II) complexes of the ligand Et2NCH2CH2NHCH2CH2NEt2 (= Et4dien).16 The reactions, with X = halide or pseudohalide, are... 

Covalent Organotin Halide, Pseudohalide, Carboxylate, and Nitrate Complexes... 

Treichel, Knebel, and Hess provided further data on these systems by studying reactions of [Pt(PRj)2(CNCH3)2] with various halide ions and with pseudohalides. A series of five-coordinate complexes were obtained from reactions with iodide ion (PRj = PPhj, PPh2Me, PPhMe2, PEtj), and a study was carried out to measure the stability of these complexes with respect to ligand loss 155). Stability constants for several of these complexes were obtained from spectroscopic data. Other reactants (Cl, Br, CN, SCN) generally yielded the appropriate [Pt(PRj)2(CNCH3)X] species, as expected. 

Notably, the thiocyanide anion as a pseudohalide forms similar complexes with the aromatic jt-acceptors. Indeed, in the recently characterized complex... 

Fulminato, cyanato, thiocyanato, and related pseudohalide complexes 281... 

The Heck reaction, a palladium-catalyzed vinylic substitution, is conducted with olefins and organohalides or pseudohalides are frequently used as reactants [15, 16], One of the strengths of the method is that it enables the direct monofunctionalization of a vinylic carbon, which is difficult to achieve by other means. Numerous elegant transformations based on Heck chemistry have been developed in natural and non-natural product synthesis. Intermolecular reactions with cyclic and acyclic al-kenes, and intramolecular cyclization procedures, have led to the assembly of a variety of complex and sterically congested molecules. 

Hydrogen cyanide (Table 15.1) is a colorless, flammable liquid or gas that boils at 25.7°C and freezes at minus 13.2°C. The gas rarely occurs in nature, is lighter than air, and diffuses rapidly. It is usually prepared commercially from ammonia and methane at elevated temperatures with a platinum catalyst. It is miscible with water and alcohol, but is only slightly soluble in ether. In water, HCN is a weak acid with the ratio of HCN to CN about 100 at pH 7.2, 10 at pH 8.2, and 1 at pH 9.2. HCN can dissociate into H+ and CN. Cyanide ion, or free cyanide ion, refers to the anion CN derived from hydrocyanic acid in solution, in equilibrium with simple or complexed cyanide molecules. Cyanide ions resemble halide ions in several ways and are sometimes referred to as pseudohalide ions. For example, silver cyanide is almost insoluble in water, as are silver halides. Cyanide ions also form stable complexes with many metals. 

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