Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018) xxx, xxx–xxx

King Saud University

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II)

complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-
Miyaura reaction
Yan-Bing Wang, Yan-Xiao Liu, Zhi-Hui Zhu, Xue-Mei Zhao, Bing Song *,
Xinju Zhu *, Xin-Qi Hao

College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 of Science Road,
Zhengzhou 450001, China

Received 1 April 2018; revised 12 May 2018; accepted 14 May 2018

KEYWORDS
Achiral NCN pincer Pt and
Pd complexes;
Direct CAH metalation;
Suzuki-Miyaura reaction
Abstract A series of platinum and palladium pincer complexes supported by achiral 1,3-bis(20 -imi
dazolinyl)benzene-based NCN ligands have been prepared via direct C2 metalation. Meanwhile,
ligand precursor 3b and Pt(II) complex 4b were characterized by crystallographic studies, which
reveals that the platinum atom in 4b adopts a distorted-square-planar geometry. The Pd(II) pincer
complexes 5b was found to be an efficient catalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of aryl
bromides and phenylboronic acid under air. In the presence of 0.5 mol% of Pd(II) 5b in
DMF/K3PO43H2O for 8 h, the corresponding biaryl products could be obtained in 24–99% yields.
Ó 2018 King Saud University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction combination with Pd precatalyst, have demonstrated efficient

catalytic activity even for challenging substrates such as aryl
The palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reac- chloride and base-sensitive boronic acids [5–9]. However, these
tion is a powerful strategy to form CAC bond, and has been ligands suffer from some disadvantages, such as high toxicity,
utilized in synthesizing agrochemicals, drugs, and functional cost, and sensitivity. To overcome these drawbacks, N-
polymers [1–4]. In most cases, phosphine ligands, used in heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) ligands have been developed,
which could catalyze room-temperature Suzuki-Miyaura reac-
tion or access to sterically hindered biaryls [10–13]. In recent
* Corresponding authors. years, nitrogen donors, including imine [14,15], benzimidazole
E-mail addresses: bingsong@zzu.edu.cn (B. Song), zhuxinju@zzu.edu. [16], pyrazole [16], pyridine [17], amine [18], and thiazole [19]
cn (X. Zhu). have also been tested as possible alternatives in Suzuki-
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University. Miyaura reaction. To reach high efficiency in cross-coupling
reactions, the development of new ligands has been of great
importance nowadays.
Imidazole is a privilege scaffold existing in a variety of nat-
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ure products, pharmaceuticals, light-emitting materials, and
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
1319-6103 Ó 2018 King Saud University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Please cite this article in press as: Y.-B. Wang et al., Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-Miyaura
reaction, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
2 Y.-B. Wang et al.
molecular probe. Meanwhile, as a promising donor moiety,
imidazole has been incorporated into organometallic com-
plexes, demonstrating superior stability and promising cat-
alytic applications. Through variation of electronic and steric
effects in imidazole framework, the catalytic activity of
obtained metal complexes could be well manipulated. In this
context, the Pfaltz [20], Busacca [21], Claver and Castillón
[22], Casey [23], Sedlák [24], Beller [25], Peters [26], Gong
and Song [27], and Nakamura and Toru [28] group have con-
tributed to studying on imidazoline-based organometallic
complexes, with catalytic applications in hydrogenation
[20,21], allylation [23], epoxidation [25], Friedel-Crafts alkyla-
tion [29], dehydrogenative cross-coupling [30], arylation of
imine [31] reactions. Notably, Nakamura group have exten-
sively investigated tridentate 1,3-bis(20 -imidazolinyl)phenyls
(Phebim) based chiral NCN pincer Pd complexes, which exhib-
ited excellent activity in asymmetric reaction of imines with
nucleophiles [32–37]. Recently, the Lang and Borah group also
reported Pd(II)-imidazole complexes-catalyzed Suzuki-
Miyaura cross-coupling reactions [11,38].
Inspired by the superior performance of imidazole-
containing metal complexes, our group have synthesized a ser-
ies of chiral NCN pincer Pd [39,40], Pt [39,41], Ni [42], and Rh
[43,44] complexes. Meanwhile, Pd-catalyzed enantioselective
Friedel-Crafts alkylation and hydrophosphination [39,40] were
investigated. As a continuation of our previous work, we
herein report the preparation and characterization of achiral
ligand precursors and their pincer Pd and Pt complexes.
Finally, catalytic activity of achiral palladium complex 5b in
the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of aryl bromides
and phenylboronic acid are also presented (Fig. 1).
2. Methods
2.1. Materials
All chemicals were used as purchased without purification
unless otherwise stated. Solvents were dried with standard
methods and freshly distilled prior to use, except that in the
Suzuki reactions the solvents were analytical grade and used
without further purification. Compounds 3a-b were prepared
according to previous literatures expect that achiral ethanola-
mine was used instead [39,45].
2.2. Instrumentation
1
H and 13C NMR spectra were all recorded on a Bruker DPX
400 instrument using TMS as an internal standard. Data are
reported as follows: chemical shift (d ppm), multiplicity
Fig. 1 NCN pincer Pd(II)-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction.
Please cite this article in press as: Y.-B. Wang et al., Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-Miyaura
reaction, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
(s = singlet, d = doublet, t = triplet, q = quartet, m = multi
plet), integration, and coupling constants (J) in Hertz (Hz).
Melting points were measured on a WC-1 instrument and were
uncorrected. HRMS were determined on a Waters Q-Tof
Micro MS/MS System ESI spectrometer. Flash column chro-
matography was performed on silica gel (200–300 mesh).
2.3. General procedure for the synthesis of compounds 4a-b
To a two-neck Schlenk flask were stirred bis(imidazoline)ben-
zene 3 (0.2 mmol) and K2PtCl4 (100 mg, 0.24 mmol) in dry
HOAc (60 mL). The reaction mixture was refluxed for 48 h
and cooled down to room temperature. The solution was con-
centrated under vacuo, and the residue was purified by passing
through a short column containing a layer of Celite and a layer
of silica with dichloromethane as eluent to generate the desired
Pt(II) complexes 4a and 4b.
1,3-Bis(1-p-tolyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-2-yl)benzene
(3a). Yield: 23%. M.p.: 169–171 °C. IR (KBr): m 3030, 2946,
2923, 2866, 1618, 1587, 1513, 1486, 1420, 1383, 1322, 1300,
1250, 1150, 1029, 996, 895, 814, 706 cm1. 1H NMR (400
MHz, DMSO-d6): d 7.53 (s, 1H, central Ar2), 7.30 (d, J = 7.
7 Hz, 2H, central Ar4,6), 7.24 (t, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H, central
Ar5), 7.00 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 4H, NAr3,5), 6.62 (d, J = 8.3 Hz,
4H, NAr2,6), 3.88 (s, 8H, NCH2), 2.20 (s, 6H, CH3). 13C
NMR (100 MHz, DMSO-d6): d 161.4 (C‚N), 140.9 (NAr1),
132.7 (NAr4), 131.9 (central Ar1,3), 129.4 (central Ar4,6 and
NAr3,5), 128.2 (central Ar2,5), 122.9 (NAr2,6), 54.1 (NCH2),
53.0 (NCH2), 20.5 (CH3). MS (m/z, ESI+): 395 (M + H),
HRMS (m/z, ESI+), found for M + H = 395.2228,
C26H27N4 requires 395.2236.
1,3-Bis(1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-2-yl)
benzene (3b). Yield: 34%. M.p.: 181–183 °C. IR (KBr): m 3011,
2927, 2878, 1612, 1577, 1512, 1472, 1389, 1283, 1244, 1175,
1145, 1108, 1029, 996, 900, 832, 806, 700 cm1. 1H NMR
(400 MHz, DMSO-d6): d 7.55 (s, 1H, central Ar2), 7.28 (d, J
= 8.3 Hz, 2H, central Ar4,6), 7.18 (t, J = 7.7 Hz, 1H, central
Ar5), 6.78 (d, J = 9.0 Hz, 4H, NAr3,5), 6.72 (d, J = 9.0 Hz,
4H, NAr2,6), 3.86–3.81 (m, 8H, NCH2), 3.68 (s, 6H, OCH3).
13
C NMR (100 MHz, DMSO-d6): d 162.0 (C‚N), 156.1
(NAr4), 136.9 (NAr1), 131.6 (central Ar1,3), 129.3 (central
Ar4,6), 128.4 (central Ar2), 128.0 (central Ar5), 125.3
(NAr2,6), 114.3 (NAr3,5), 55.3 (OCH3), 55.0 (NCH2), 53.1
(NCH2). MS (m/z, ESI+): 427 (M + H). HRMS (m/z,
ESI+), found for M + H = 427.2140, C26H27N4 requires
427.2134.
2,6-Bis(1-p-tolyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-2-yl)phenylchlor
oplatinum(II) (4a). Yield: 69%. M.p.: >300 °C. IR (KBr):
m 3032, 2923, 2856, 1566, 1521, 1454, 1427, 1304, 1161, 1045,
823, 729 cm1. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3): d 7.24 (d, J =
Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes
8.0 Hz, 4H, NArCH), 7.18 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, 4H, NArCH), 6.56 (t,
J = 8.0 Hz, 1H, central Ar4), 6.41 (d, J = 7.6 Hz, 2H, central
Ar3,5), 4.30–4.25 (m, 4H, NCH2), 4.21–4.17 (m, 4H, NCH2),
2.41 (s, 6H, CH3). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 173.9
(C‚N), 165.4 (central Ar1), 137.8 (NAr4), 137.3 (NAr1),
131.4 (central Ar2,6), 130.2 (NArCH), 126.8 (central Ar3,5),
126.1 (NArCH), 120.1 (central Ar4), 55.9 (NCH2), 50.6
(NCH2), 21.2 (CH3). MS (m/z, ESI+): 588 (M-Cl). HRMS
(m/z, ESI+), found for M-Cl = 588.1710, C26H25N4Pt
requires 588.1727.
2,6-Bis(1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-2-yl)
phenylchloroplatinum(II) (4b). Yield: 77%. M.p.: >260 °C. IR
(KBr): m 3046, 2935, 2879, 2836, 1567, 1510, 1459, 1289, 1248,
1163, 1031, 836, 730 cm1. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3): d
7.24 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 4H, NArCH), 6.95 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 4H,
NArCH), 6.53 (t, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H, central Ar4), 6.31 (d, J =
8.0 Hz, 2H, central Ar3,5), 4.28–4.23 (m, 4H, NCH2), 4.17–
4.12 (m, 4H, NCH2), 3.86 (s, 6H, OCH3). 13C NMR (100
MHz, CDCl3): d 174.3 (C‚N), 165.3 (central Ar1), 159.0
(NAr4), 132.5 (NAr1), 131.3 (central Ar2,6), 127.9 (NArCH),
126.7 (central Ar3,5), 120.2 (central Ar4), 114.7 (NArCH),
56.1 (NCH2), 55.5 (OCH3), 50.6 (NCH2). MS (m/z, ESI+):
620 (M-Cl). HRMS (m/z, ESI+), found for M-Cl = 620.165
5, C26H25N4O2Pt requires 620.1625.
2.4. General procedure for the synthesis of compound 5b
To a two-neck Schlenk flask were stirred bis(imidazoline)ben-
zene 3b (50 mg, 0.2 mmol) and Pd(OAc)2 (54 mg, 0.24 mmol)
in dry HOAc (60 mL). The reaction mixture were refluxed
for 48 h under a nitrogen atmosphere and cooled down to
room temperature. The solvent was removed and a solution
of lithium chloride (102 mg, 2.4 mmol) in acetone/water (3:2,
35 mL) was added. After stirring for 48 h, the solution was
extracted with dichloromethane and the organic layer was
washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 and evaporated. The
residue was purified by preparative TLC on silica gel plates
eluting with acetone/CH2Cl2 (1/1) to give the corresponding
Pd(II) 5b.
2,6-Bis(1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-2-yl)
phenylchloropalladium(II) (5b). Yield: 35%. M.p.: >260 °C. IR
Fig. 2 Preparation of ligand precursors 3a-b and pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes 4a-b and 5b.
Please cite this article in press as: Y.-B. Wang et al., Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-Miyaura
reaction, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
3
(KBr): m 3052, 2955, 2926, 2855, 1569, 1536, 1511, 1458, 1291,
1248, 1179, 1163, 1032, 836, 725 cm1. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
CDCl3): d 7.21 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 4H, NArCH), 6.94 (d, J = 8.
6 Hz, 4H, NArCH), 6.50 (t, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H, central Ar4),
6.23 (d, J = 7.8 Hz, 2H, central Ar3,5), 4.18 (m, t, J = 11.2
Hz, 4H, NCH2), 4.04 (t, J = 9.3 Hz, 4H, NCH2), 3.85 (s,
6H, OCH3). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 173.5 (central
Ar1), 170.5 (C = N), 159.1 (NAr4), 133.2 (central Ar2,6),
132.6 (NAr1), 128.1 (NArCH), 126.3 (central Ar3,5), 121.9 (cen-
tral Ar4), 114.9 (NArCH), 56.0 (NCH2), 55.5 (OCH3), 50.8
(NCH2). MS (m/z, ESI+): 531 (M-Cl). HRMS (m/z, ESI+),
found for M–Cl = 531.1019, C26H25N4O2Pd requires
531.1012.
2.5. General procedure for the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction
A prescribed amount of the palladium complex 4b was dis-
solved in DMF (3 mL). To this solution were added aryl bro-
mide (0.5 mmol), phenylboronic acid (0.75 mmol) and base
(1.0 mmol). The reaction mixture was then stirred in an oil
bath at 140 °C for 8 h. After the reaction mixture was cooled
to ambient temperature, 15 mL of diethyl ether and 15 mL
of water were added. The organic layer was separated, and
the aqueous phase was extracted with 10 mL of diethyl ether.
The combined organic phase was dried over anhydrous
MgSO4, filtered and evaporated. The products were isolated
by flash chromatography on silica gel and identified by com-
parison of melting points with the literature values or by 1H
NMR spectra.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Preparation of ligand precursors 3a-b and corresponding
pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes 4a-b and 5b
The achiral Phebim ligands 3a-b was synthesized from com-
mercially available isophthalyl chloride and ethanolamine in
two steps according to previous literatures [39,45]. Pt(II) and
Pd (II) pincer complexes 4a-b and 5b were assessed via direct
CAH metalation methodology in 33–77% yields (Fig. 2).
4 Y.-B. Wang et al.
Fig. 3 (a) Molecular structure of 3b. Hydrogen atoms are
omitted for clarity. Selected bond lengths (Å) and angles (deg): N
(1)-C(9) 1.391(3), N(2)-C(9) 1.279(3), N(1)-C(6) 1.423(3), N(1)-C
(7) 1.473(3), N(2)-C(8) 1.472(3), N(2)-C(9)-N(1) 116.0(2). (b)
Molecular structure of 4b. Hydrogen atoms are omitted for clarity.
Selected bond lengths (Å) and angles (deg): Pt(1)-C(8) 1.920(10),
Pt(1)-N(3) 2.008(8), Pt(1)-N(1) 2.039(9), Pt(1)-Cl(1) 2.404(3), N
(1)-C(7) 1.306(13), N(2)-C(7) 1.341(12), N(3)-C(14) 1.331(13), N
(4)-C(14) 1.364(12), N(3)-Pt(1)-N(1) 159.2(3); C(8)-Pt(1)-Cl(1)
175.2(3), N(1)-C(7)-N(2) 112.7(9), N(3)-C(14)-N(4) 112.5(9).
Fig. 4 Crystal packing of 3b into a 2D pseudo-herringbone-like arrangement.
Please cite this article in press as: Y.-B. Wang et al., Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-Miyaura
reaction, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
3.2. Molecular structure of 3b and 4b
The obtained complexes 3a-b, 4a-b, and 5b are bench-stable,
and were fully characterized by HRMS, NMR, and IR analy-
sis. The molecular structures of ligand 3b (Fig. 3a) and
platinum complexes 4b (Fig. 3b) were further determined by
X-ray single crystal analysis. In the ligand 3b, the N-aryl ring,
the imidazoline ling, and the central aryl ring are not coplanar
with each other. The dihedral angles of the imidazoline ring
and the central aryl ring as well as the imidazoline ring and
the attached N-aryl ring are 64.2° and 55.2°, respectively. How-
ever, the two neighboring imidazoline rings are parallel with an
interplanar distance of 3.5958 Å, indicating presence of a p-p
stacking interaction. The intermolecular p-stacking interac-
tions also exist between the two adjacent N-aryl rings with
the interplanar distance and angle of 3.1615 Å and 0°, respec-
tively. Once ligand 3b was cycloplatinated, a pentacyclic system
is formed by the central aryl, the two five-membered metallacy-
cles and the two imidazoline rings, which is almost coplanar.
Due to the existence of ring strain within the polycyclic system,
the platinum atom in 4b adopts a distorted-square-planar
geometry. Similar as our previous reports [33,44], the two N-
aryl rings are not coplanar with the five rings and the dihedral
angles between N-aryl ring with the attached imidazoline ring
are 107.8° and 108.1° in 4b. All the bond lengths and angles
around Pt(II) in 4b are essentially identical. The C-Pt-Cl angles
are almost linear (175.2(3)), whereas the N-Pt-N angles
(around 159.2(3)°) are bent due to the constraints imposed by
the two fused five-membered metallacycles.
In ligands precursor 3b, there exists a p-p stacking interac-
tion between two neighboring N-aryl rings, resulting in a one
dimensional chain structure. Meanwhile, a p-p stacking inter-
action was also observed between two neighboring imidazoline
rings, which contributes to a 2D pseudo-herringbone-like
arrangement (Fig. 4). In Pt(II) complex 4b, chlorine atom
forms intermolecular hydrogen bond with the adjacent CAH
group of OCH3, which is attributed to construct a one-
dimensional chain structure (Fig. 5, top). Furthermore, inter-
molecular hydrogen bonds between chlorine atom and the
Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes 5

CAH group of N-aryl ring (Cl1  H6A = 2.823 Å), chlorine
atom and imidazoline ring (Cl1  H23B = 2.799 Å), and plat-
inum atom and the adjacent CAH group of N-aryl ring
(Pt1  H2A = 2.705 Å) construct the 2D network structure
(Fig. 5, below).
3.3. Investigation of Suzuki cross-coupling reaction catalyzed by
Pd(II) complex 5b
The Suzuki cross-coupling reaction between bromobenzene 6a
and phenylboronic acid 7a using achiral palladium complex 5b

Fig. 5 Crystal packing of 4b into a 1D chain structure (top) and a 2D network structure (below).

Table 1 Optimization of Suzuki Reaction conditions.a

Entry Solvent Catalyst 5d Base Temp Time Yieldb (%)

(mol %) (°C)
1 DMF 0.5 K2CO3 140 8 73
2 DMF 0.5 KF 2H2O 140 8 70
3 DMF 0.5 K3PO43H2O 140 8 99
4 DMF 0.5 KOAc 140 8 18
5 DMF 0.5 Et3N 140 8 7
6 DMF 0.5 NaOH 140 8 61
7 DMF 0.5 K3PO43H2O 140 4 73
8 DMF 0.1 K3PO43H2O 140 8 75
9 DMF 0.5 K3PO43H2O 120 8 52
10 Toluene 0.5 K3PO43H2O 110 8 46
11 Dioxane 0.5 K3PO43H2O 100 8 79
a
Reaction conditions: bromobenzene (0.50 mmol), PhB(OH)2 (0.75 mmol), base (1.0 mmol), solvent (3 mL).
b
Isolated yields.

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6 Y.-B. Wang et al.

Table 2 Suzuki cross-coupling reactions of aryl bromides catalyzed by complex 5b.a

a
Reaction conditions: aryl bromides (0.50 mmol), PhB(OH)2 (0.75 mmol), Pd(II) 5b complex (0.5 mol%), K3PO43H2O (2 equiv), solvent
(3 mL), DMF, 140 °C, 8 h, under air.

was examined for (Table 1). Initially, various bases were
screened in the presence of 0.5 mol% 5b in DMF at 140 °C
for 8 h, and the utilization of K3PO43H2O gave the best result
(Table 1, entry 3). Decreased yields were obtained when the
shortened reaction time (4 h), reduced the catalyst loading
(0.1 mol%), or lowered temperature (120 °C) was individually
applied (Table 1, entries 7–9). Next, other solvents, including
toluene and dioxane, were examine, which both led to inferior
reactivity (Table 1, entries 10–11).
With the optimized conditions in hand (Table 1, entry 3),
the substrate scope of aryl bromides was investigated (Table 2).
For ortho, meta, or para-substituted substrates 6a-j, both
electron-donating (OCH3, CH3) and electron-withdrawing
(CHO, NO2) group proceeded smoothly to generate the
desired products 7a-j in 84–99% yields. In general, the acti-
vated bromides, such as 3- and 4-bromonitrobenzenes (6h
and 6j), or 2- and 3-bromobenzaldehydes (6d and 6g) could
couple with phenylboronic acid 7a very efficiently to afford
the desired products in >95% yields. Next, disubstituted sub-
strate 2-bromo-m-xylene 6k was examined, which provided the
biaryl product 8k in 56% yield, probably due to the steric hin-
drance. Moreover, 1-bromonaphthalene 6l was also proved to
an ideal substrate to give 8l in 99% yield. The current method-
ology could be further extended to heteroaryl bromides. 3-
Bromopyridine 6m and 2-bromothiophene 6o were found to
be good coupling partners, delivering the desired product 8m
and 8o 81 and 74% yields, respectively. In contrast, for 2-
bromopyridine 6n and 3-bromothiophene 6p, low yields (34
and 23%, respectively) were obtained under the same reaction
conditions.
4. Conclusions
We have synthesized a series of achiral 1,3-bis(20 -imidazolinyl)
benzene ligands from inexpensive and readily available starting
materials. Reactions of the ligands with K2PtCl4 or Pd(OAc)2/
LiCl directly led to the formation of Pt(II) and Pd(II) NCN
pincer complexes. The achiral palladium complex exhibited
high activity in the Suzuki coupling reactions of various aryl
bromides with phenylboronic acid under an aerobic atmo-
sphere. Meanwhile, the biological activity of achiral platinum
complexes is currently in progress in our lab.
Acknowledgments
Financial support from the National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (Grant No. 21672192), the China Postdoctoral
Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 2016M602254 and
2016M600582), the Program for Science & Technology Inno-
vation Talents in Universities of Henan Province (Grant No.
17HASTIT004), and the Aid Project for the Leading Young
Teachers in Henan Provincial Institutions (Grant No.
2015GGJS-157) are gratefully appreciated.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found,
in the online version, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.
006.

Please cite this article in press as: Y.-B. Wang et al., Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes and catalytic application in the Suzuki-Miyaura
reaction, Journal of Saudi Chemical Society (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2018.05.006
Synthesis of achiral NCN pincer Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes
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