Theoretical evidence for low-ligated palladium(0): [Pd-L] as the active species in oxidative addition reactions

The oxidative addition of PhI to Pd-O has been studied by DFT with a continuum representation of the solvent. It is shown that the preferred number of ligands on palladium is lower than would be expected from conventional wisdom and the 18-electron rule. The most favored oxidative addition is obtained when Pd is coordinated by only the aryl iodide and one additional ligand in a linear arrangement. The calculations indicate that p-orbitals on the central metal are not involved in bonding in any of the complexes described herein, in good agreement with classic ligand field theory and also with a recent bonding analysis by Weinhold and Landis, but in apparent violation of the 18-electron rule.