Electrophiles alkyl thiolate complex

Platinum(II) thiolates can be decomposed in strong acid because of protonation at sulfur (equation 509). This reaction is similar to electrophilic alkylation at the coordinated thiolate, although in this case the thioether complex may be isolable (equation 510). Thiolato ligands are unreactive to nucleophiles, and only under the most forcing conditions does ligand replacement occur. 

As mentioned above, reactions of this type have been widely used in the synthesis of macrocyclic ligands. Indeed, some of the earliest examples of templated ligand synthesis involve thiolate alkylations. Many of the most important uses of metal thiolate complexes in these syntheses utilise the reduced nucleophilicity of a co-ordinated thiolate ligand. The lower reactivity results in increased selectivity and more controllable reactions. This is exemplified in the formation of an A -donor ligand by the condensation of biacetyl with the nickel(n) complex of 2-aminoethanethiol (Fig. 5-78). The electrophilic carbonyl reacts specifically with the co-ordinated amine, to give a complex of a new diimine ligand. The beauty of this reaction is that the free ligand cannot be prepared in a metal-free reac-... 

One of the simplest and widely used methods of forming C-S bonds involves nucleophilic attack of a thiolate on a suitable C-centred electrophile such as an alkyl halide (Fig. 5-74). Co-ordinated thiolate ligands behave as nucleophiles in exactly the same manner, and the method has been extensively used for the preparation of thioethers and their metal complexes. The method has been particularly commonly utilised in the formation of macrocyclic ligands in templated syntheses (see Chapter 6). 

Four oxidation states of palladium are encountered in organometallic chemistry see Palladium Inorganic Coordination Chemistry) In order of importance, they are Pd , Pd , Pd, and Pd . With the reduction of palladium from Pd to Pd , the metal changes its reactivity from electrophile to nucleophile. However, unlike main group nucleophiles such as thiolates or cyanide, Pd complexes react with both alkyl halides and aryl or vinyl halides. Reactions of Pd complexes with these latter sp halides generate new Pd aryl or vinyl bonds through the process of oxidative addition. 

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