Palladium(II) Complexes of N-(2-Thienylmethylidene)aniline Derivatives

Coordination reactions of N-(2-thienylmethylidene)aniline derivatives, L, with PdCl₂ or [PdCl₄]^2? in ethanol yield stable complexes of the type trans-(L)₂PdCl₂ with the azomethine nitrogen atoms as σ donors. These are not readily convertible to othor-palladated complexes. An X-ray crystallographic study of the complex (L₂)₂PdCl₂ reveals a centrosymmetric geometry. The structure is in the triclinic space group $ {rm P}bar 1 $ with a = 8.633(2) Å, b = 12.759(3) Å, c = 8.398(2) Å, α = 96.65(5)°, β = 111.47(5)*, γ= 101.28(6)°, and Z = 1. The final R factor is 0.043 (Rw = 0.044) for 2396 observed reflections. There is no real bonding between a thiophene sulfur atom and a central palladium ion. However, a long distance interaction between S and Pd does exist.