Pt, Pd and Hg Complexes with Potentially Tridentate Telluroether Ligands

N-[3-(Phenyltellanyl)propyl]picolinamide (HL1) or N-[N,N-methyl(phenyl)aminothiocarbonyl]-N-[3-(phenyltellanyl)propyl]benzamidine (HL2) react with equivalent amounts of PtCl2 or PdCl2 with formation of neutral [MCl(L1-N,N,Te)] or [MCl(L2-S,N,Te)] chelates. A corresponding reaction of HL2 with HgCl2 results in the formation of [HgCl2(HL2-S,Te)]. Treatment of [PtCl(L1-N,N,Te)] with elemental iodine results in the exclusive oxidation of the metal ion and the platinum(IV) complex [PtI3(L1-N,N,Te)] could be isolated in reasonable amounts. A decomposition of the tellurium-containing ligand and the formation of [PdI2(PhTeI)(2)] was observed during a similar procedure with the corresponding palladium complex. The bonding situation inside the latter compound was analyzed through density functional theory calculations.