Palladium and ruthenium nanoparticles have been prepared following the organometallic precursor decomposition methodology, under dihydrogen pressure and in the presence of borane protected P-stereogenic phosphines. NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) monitoring of the corresponding syntheses has permitted to determine the optimal metal/ligand ratio for leading to small and well-dispersed nanoparti...

Phosphines and phosphites are critical tools for non-metal desulfurative methodologies due to the strength of P=S bond. An overarching premise in these methods has been that stoichiometric (or excess)...

Tetrairidium carbonyl clusters are potentially useful connectors for multidimensional functionalized frameworks with organic bis-phosphines as linkers. The reaction of Ir(4)(CO)(12) and 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)benzene produces an oligomeric cyclic structure, made of 4 connectors and 6 linkers, a possible intermediate in the formation of three dimensional networks.

C–H activation of the methyl group of toluene and related ArCH3 derivatives by 2,3-dichloro-4,5-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) gives insertion products, ArCH2O[C6Cl2(CN)2]OH via a rate-determining hydride abstraction by DDQ. The resulting benzylic ether can undergo reactions with phosphines to give benzylic phosphonium salts (Wittig reagents) and with phosphites to give phosphonate esters (Horn...

Reactions of primary imidazolio-phosphides (“imidazolylidene-phosphinidenes”) with R2SnCl2 yield as main products spectroscopically detectable Lewis pairs which undergo base-induced dehydrochlorination in the presence excess dichlorostannane to afford zwitterionic chloride adducts distannylated imidazolio-phosphines. In contrast, reactions R3SnCl proceed under dismutation furnish mixtures conta...

Surface organic ligands are critical for the formation and properties of atomically precise metal nanoclusters. In contrast to the conventionally used protective ligands such as thiolates and phosphines, thiacalix[4]arene has been used in the synthesis of a silver nanocluster, [Ag35(H2L)2(L)(C≡CBu(t))16](SbF6)3, (H4L, p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]-arene). This is the first structurally determined ca...

New selenoether functionalised tertiary phosphines, based on aryl (2a, 2b) or alkyl (4) backbones, have been synthesised and characterised. P,Se-chelation has been achieved upon complexation to square-planar Pt(II) (3a) or Pd(II) (3b) metal centres. For 3a and 3b, weak non-covalent M...Se contacts were established using single crystal X-ray crystallography.