Reactivity of fluorinated thioether ligands of the type [C6H4Br-2-(CH2SRF)] towards transition metal complexes of the group 10

The fluorinated thioether compounds C₆H₄Br-2-(CH₂SR_F)] (SR_F = SC₆F₅ (1), SC₆F₄-4-H (2), SC₆H₄-2-F (3), SC₆H₄-3-F (4), SC₆H₄-4-F (5)) were synthesized and the reactivity of (1) was explored with transition metal complexes of the group 10. The results obtained indicate that the reactivity of these ligands is strongly dependent on the oxidation state of the metal center on the complex. Thus, products of the coordination of Pd(II) and Pt(II) to the sulfur moiety were obtained and unequivocally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. While spectroscopic evidence indicates that reaction of the Pt(0) compound Pt(PEt₃)₃] leads to the formation of C–Br activation products, it is worth noting that similar reactions with Ni(0) and Pd(0) compounds only afford complex mixtures that in most of the cases indicate desulfurization of the ligands and decomposition of the metallic starting materials.