Cation-Controlled Olefin Isomerization Catalysis with Palladium Pincer Complexes

Abstract
Palladium(II) pincer complexes with varying amine donor substituents have been prepared and studied in olefin isomerization catalysis. Installing a macrocycle into the pincer ligand enables cation-switchable positional olefin isomerization: no reaction is observed with the catalyst alone, while in the presence of Li⁺ salts isomerization proceeds cleanly. Mechanistic studies implicate a key role of highly electrophilic Pd centers with accessible olefin binding sites.

Citation
Farquhar, A., Gardner, K., Acosta-Calle, S., Camp, A., Chen, C.-H., & Miller, A. (2022). Cation-controlled olefin isomerization catalysis with Palladium Pincer Complexes. https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-7rzq7