In‐house and synchrotron X‐ray diffraction studies of 2‐phenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline,protonated salts,complexes with gold(III) and copper(II), and an orthometallation product with palladium(II)

Different salts of the 2‐phenyl‐1,10‐phenanthrolin‐1‐ium cation, (pnpH)⁺, are obtained by reacting 2‐phenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline (pnp), C₁₈H₁₂N₂, (I), with a variety of anions, such as hexafluoridophosphate, C₁₈H₁₃N₂⁺·PF₆^?, (II), trifluoromethanesulfonate, C₁₈H₁₃N₂⁺·CF₃SO₃^?, (III), tetrachloridoaurate, (C₁₈H₁₃N₂)AuCl₄], (IV), and bromide (as the dihydrate), C₁₈H₁₃N₂⁺·Br^?·2H₂O, (V). Compound (I) crystallizes with Z′ = 2, with both independent molecules adopting a coplanar conformation. In (II)–(IV), a hydrogen bond exists between the cation and anion, while one of the lattice water molecules serves as a hydrogen‐bonded bridge between the cation and anion in (V). Reaction of (I) with HAuCl₄ gives the salt complex (IV); however, reaction with KAuCl₄ produces the monodentate complex trichlorido(2‐phenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline‐κN¹⁰)gold(III), AuCl₃(C₁₈H₁₂N₂)], (VI). Dichlorido(2‐phenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline‐κ²N,N′)copper(II), CuCl₂(C₁₈H₁₂N₂)], (VII), results from the reaction of CuCl₂·2H₂O and (I), in which the Cu^II center adopts a tetrahedrally distorted square‐planar geometry. The pendent phenyl ring twists to a bisecting position relative to the phenanthroline plane. The square‐planar Pd^II complex, bromido2‐(phenanthrolin‐2‐yl)phenyl‐κ³C¹,N,N′]palladium(II), PdBr(C₁₈H₁₁N₂)], (VIII), is obtained from the reaction of (I) with PdCl₂(cycloocta‐1,5‐diene)], followed by addition of bromine. A coplanar geometry for the pendent ring is adopted as a result of the tridentate bonding motif.