Square planar diphosphinoazine rhodium(I) amido carbonyl complexes with an unsymmetrical PNP′ pincer-type coordination

A series of novel diphosphinoazine rhodium amido carbonyl complexes {R₂PCHC(Bu^t)–NNC(Bu^t)CH₂PR₂}Rh(CO)] (R = Ph, Prⁱ, c-C₆H₁₁, Bu^t) was prepared by deprotonation of cationic diphosphinoazine rhodium amino carbonyl complexes. The complexes were characterized by NMR as were also their precursors. The crystal structures of two cationic and one neutral deprotonated complex were determined by X-ray diffraction showing the complexes to be essentially planar with mutual trans arrangement of phosphine groups and nitrogens trans to carbonyl ligands. Measurement of valence vibration frequencies of carbonyl groups in the complexes allowed to estimate the electron density on the rhodium centre. The ene-hydrazone ligand backbone (nitrogen covalently bonded) is more electron donating than the azine backbone (nitrogen bonded by electron pair donation) as expected. In the neutral series of complexes electron donation increases with phosphine substitution in the order Ph < Prⁱ = c-C₆H₁₁ < Bu^t with the corresponding decrease of carbonyl valence vibration frequency. The tert-butyl cationic complex undergoes in a low yield an unusual diphosphinoazine bond cleavage with simultaneous oxidation of the metal resulting in a binuclear bis(iminophosphine)dirhodium complex {(Bu^t)₂PCH₂C(Bu^t)NH}Rh(Cl)₂(μ-Cl)]₂ the structure of which was also determined by X-ray diffraction.