Dinuclear copper(I) thiolate complexes with a bridging noninnocent PNP ligand

Abstract

In natural systems, substrate activation and transformation is often achieved through metal–ligand cooperativity, and almost exclusively with earth-abundant 3d metals.[1] However, this concept of a metal and its ligand acting in concert is still strongly under-explored in synthetic chemistry with first-row transition metals, although for heavier analogues this has provided new routes to the formation and functionalization of useful building blocks.[2] Recently, a family of pincer ligands[3] was demonstrated to enable cooperative catalysis.[4] Strikingly, relatively little attention has been paid to the chemistry of Fe,[5] Co,[6, 7] and Ni[8–10] with these noninnocent ligand frameworks relative to the elegant reactivity detailed for their heavier congeners. Reports of the coinage metals Ag and Au are also scarce.[9c] Furthermore, Cu chemistry has rarely been explored with any pincer scaffold.[11]