Metal→Carbon Dative Bonding

As part of our interest in unusual bonding situations, we are now targeting complexes featuring metal -> carbon dative bonds. Here, we report on the formation of such linkages in a series of Group 10 complexes featuring a triarylphosphine ligand functionalized at the gamma position by a carbenium ion. Through combined synthetic, spectroscopic, and computational studies, we show that the M -> C-carbenium interaction present in these complexes scales with the basicity of the donor, confirming its dative nature.

Automated summary

This study reports on the formation process of M -> C-carbenium bonds in a series of Group 10 complexes and confirms their dative nature through combined experimental and computational studies.