Molecular packing diagram of trans-[PdCl2(3-HCF2CF2CH2OCH2py)2] (left) showing a C8–F2⋯O1 halogen bond; (right) its stacking piles showing a herringbone pattern.

We have experimentally shown by neutron diffraction significant shortening of both sp 3- and sp 2-hybridized C–H bonds to 1.092(2) and 1.081(1) Å in a hydrogen-bonded crystal of a difluorinated compound, 4-((2,2-difluoro­ethoxy)­methyl)­pyridinium saccharinate. Both MP2 and DFT calculations affirmed the C–H bond shrinkages. Sanderson’s electronegativity equalization principle provides insight into the shortening of the C–H covalent bond lengths for both sp 3- and sp 2-hybridized carbon atoms. To the best of our knowledge, this neutron diffraction study has revealed the largest extents of sp 3 and sp 2 C–H bond shrinkages with a 3-sigma rule being satisfied.

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Phospha-Michael addition, which is the addition reaction of a phosphorus-based nucleophile to an acceptor-substituted unsaturated bond, certainly represents one of the most versatile and powerful tools for the formation of P-C bonds, since many different electrophiles and P nucleophiles can be combined with each other. This offers the possibility to access many diversely functionalized products. In this work, two kinds of basic pyridine-based organo-catalysts were used to efficiently catalyze phospha-Michael addition reactions, the 4-N,N-dimethylaminopyridinium saccharinate (DMAP·Hsac) salt and a fluorous long-chained pyridine (4-Rf-CH2OCH2-py, where Rf = C11F23). These catalysts have been synthesized and characterized by Lu’s group. The phospha-Michael addition of diisopropyl, dimethyl or triethyl phosphites to α, β-unsaturated malonates in the presence of those catalysts showed very good reactivity with high yield at 80–100 °C in 1–4.5 h with high catalytic recovery and reusability. With regard to significant catalytic recovery, sometimes more than eight cycles were observed for DMAP·Hsac adduct by using non-polar solvents (e.g., ether) to precipitate out the catalyst. In the case of the fluorous long-chained pyridine, the thermomorphic method was used to efficiently recover the catalyst for eight cycles in all the reactions. Thus, the easy separation of the catalysts from the products revealed the outstanding efficacy of our systems. To our knowledge, these are good examples of the application of recoverable organo-catalysts to the DMAP·Hsac adduct by using non-polar solvent and a fluorous long-chained pyridine under the thermomorphic mode in phospha-Michael addition reactions.

The reaction of [PdCl2(CH3CN)2] and bis-4,4’-(RfCH2OCH2)-2,2’-bpy (1a–d), where Rf = n-C11F23 (a), n-C10F21 (b), n-C9F19 (c) and n-C8F17 (d), respectively, in the presence of dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) resulted in the synthesis of Pd complex, [PdCl2[4,4’-bis-(RfCH2OCH2)-2,2’-bpy] (2a–d). The Pd-catalyzed Stille arylations of vinyl tributyltin with aryl halides were selected to demonstrate the feasibility of recycling usage with 2a as the catalyst using NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) as the solvent at 120–150 °C. Additionally, recycling and electronic effect studies of 2a–c were also carried out for Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of phenylboronic acid derivatives, 4-X-C6H4-B(OH)2, (X = H or Ph) with aryl halide, 4-Y-C6H4-Z, (Y = CN, H or OCH3; Z = I or Br) in dimethylformamide (DMF) at 135–150 °C. At the end of each cycle, the product mixtures were cooled to lower temperature (e.g., −10 °C), and then catalysts were recovered by decantation with Pd leaching less than 1%. The products were quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis or by the isolated yield. The complex 2a-catalyzed Stille reaction of aryl iodides with vinyl tributyltin have good recycling results for a total of 8 times, with a high yield within short period of time (1–3 h). Similarly, 2a–c-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura reactions also have good recycling results. The electronic effect studies from substituents in both Stille and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions showed that electron withdrawing groups speed up the reaction rate. To our knowledge, this is the first example of recoverable fluorous long-chained Pd-catalyzed Stille reactions under the thermomorphic mode.