Preparations of organonickel compounds by thermal decomposition of nickel carboxylates

Abstract

The carboxylatonickel(11) compounds, (RCO₂)₂ NiL,αH₂O [R = C₆F₅, p- MeOC₆F₄, or p-EtOC₆F₄; L = 2,2'-bipyridyl (bipy), α = 2, or L = 1,l0-hen-anthroline (phen), α = 1], have been obtained from reactions of nickel carbonate, the appropriate carboxylio acids, and the bidentate nitrogen ligands in aqueous ethanol. Nickel has octahedral stereochemistry, and possible structures are discussed. Decomposition of the complexes in boiling toluene, except for C₆F₅CO₂)₂X(phen),H₂O when boiling benzene with added benzoyl peroxide was used, gave the corresponding organonickel compounds, R₂NiL. The formation of the α-substituted phenanthroline derivatives, R₂NiL'[R = p-MeOC₆F₄ or p-EtOC₆F₄; L' = 2-(p-alkoxytetrafluorophenyl)-1,l0-phenanthroline] and (p-MeOC₆F₄),NiL" [L" = 2,9-bis(p-methoxytetrafluorophenyl)-1,l0-phenanthroline], accompanied the preparations of the appropriate R₂NiL compounds. The stereochemistry of nickel in the organonickel derivatives is approximately planar.