Synthesis and Characterization of Palladium(II) Complexes with 2‐(2′‐Pyridyl)quinoline. Catalytic Air Oxidation of Olefins by Palladium(II) Complexes

Palladium(II) complexes of 2‐(2′‐pyridyl)quinoline (PQ), namely [PdX₂(PQ)] (X = Br^?, I^?, N₃^?, NO₂^?, SCN^?, acac) and [PdCl(NO₃)(PQ)] have been synthesized via substitution reactions of [PdCl₂(PQ)] with an excess of sodium salts and acetylacetone. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity measurements, IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Selected complexes have been further characterized using electrospray ionization (ESI) and ion trap mass spectroscopy (ITMS). Some complexes are found to catalyze the rapid air oxidation of α‐olefins under Wacker oxidation. The chlorohydrin products are produced in good to excellent yields while oxidation products are obtained in low yields. The [PdCl₂(PQ)] complex is found to have the highest catalytic activity.