Direct addition of alcohols to organonitriles activated by ligation to a platinum(IV) center

Treatment of trans-[PtCl4(RCN)(2)] (R = Me, Et) with R'OH (R' = Me, Et, n-Pr, i-Pr, n-Bu) at 45 degreesC in all cases allowed the isolation of the trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(R)OR'}(2)] imino ester complexes, while the reaction between cis-(PtCl4(RCN)(2)] and the least sterically hindered alcohols (methanol and ethanol) results in the formation of cis[PtCl4(E)-NH=C(R)OR'}(2)] (R/R' = Me/Me) or trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(Et)OR'}(2)] (R' = Me, Et), the latter being formed via thermal isomerization (ROH, reflux, 3 h) of the initially formed corresponding cis isomers. The reaction between alcohols R'OH and cis-[PtCl4(RCN)(2)] (R = Me, R' = Et, n-Pr, i-Pr, n-Bu; R = Et; R' = n-Pr, i-Pr, n-Bu), exhibiting greater R/R' steric congestion, allowed the isolation Of cis-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(R)OR'}{(Z)-NH=C(R)-OR'}] as the major products. The alcoholysis reactions of poorly soluble [PtCl4(RCN)(2)] (R = CH2Ph, Ph) performed under heterogeneous conditions, directly in the appropriate alcohol and for a prolonged time and, for R = Ph, with heating led to trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(R)OR'}(2)] (R = CH2Ph, R' = Me, Et, n-Pr, i-Pr; R = Ph, R' = Me) isolated in moderate yields. In all of the cases, in contrast to platinum(II) systems, addition of R'OH to the organonitrile platinum(IV) complexes occurs under mild conditions and does not require a base as a catalyst. The formed isomerically pure (imino ester)Pt(IV) complexes can be reduced selectively, by Ph3P=CHCO2Me, to the corresponding isomers of (imino ester)Pt(II) species, exhibiting antitumor activity, without change in configuration of the imino ester ligands. Furthemore, the imino esters NH=C(R)OR' can be liberated from both platinum(IV) and platinum(II) complexes [PtCl4{NH=C(R)OR'}(2)] (n = 2, 4) by reaction with 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane and pyridine, respectively. All of the prepared compounds were characterized by elemental analyses (C, H, N), FAB mass spectrometry, IR, and H-1, C-13{H-1}, and Pt-195 (metal complexes) NMR spectroscopies; the E and Z configurations of the imino ester ligands in solution were determined by observation of the nuclear Overhauser effect. X-ray structure determinations were performed for trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(Me)OEt}(2)] (2), trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(Et)-OEt}(2)] (10), trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(Et)OPr-i}(2)] (11), trans-[PtCl4{(E)-NH=C(Et)OPr-n}(2)] (12), and CiS-[PtCl4{(E)NH=C(Et)OMe}(2)] (14), Ab initio calculations have shown that the EE isomers are the most stable ones for both platinum(II) and platinum(IV) complexes, whereas the most stable configurations for the ZZ isomers are less stable than the respective EZ isomers, indicating an increase of the stability on moving from the ZZ to the EE configurations which is more pronounced for the Pt(IV) complexes than for the Pt(II) species.