The
influence of the pincer platform composition and substitution
on the reactivity and physical properties of pincer complexes can
be easily explored through different experimental techniques. However,
the influence of these factors on the molecular structures and thermodynamic
stability of pincer complexes is usually very subtle and cannot always
be unambiguously established. To rationalize this subtle influence,
a survey of crystallographic data from 130 group 10 metal pincer complexes
supported by benzene-based PYCYP pincer ligands, [2,6-(R2PY)2C6H3–n
R′
n
]MX (Y = CH2, NH,
O, S; M = Ni, Pd, Pt; R = tBu, iPr, Ph, Cy,
Me; R′ = CO2Me, tBu, CF3,
Ac; n = 0–2; X = F, Cl, Br, I, H, SH, SPh,
SBn, Ph, Me, N3, NCS), was carried out. Theoretical calculations
for some selected complexes were performed to evaluate the relative
bond strength. It was found that the M–Cipso bond
length decreases following the linker series of CH2 >
NH
> O and that the relative M–Cipso bond strength
increases following the linker series of CH2 < NH <
O. In most cases, the M–P bond length decreases following the
linker series of NH > CH2 > O. The relative M–P
bond strength increases following the linker series of CH2 < NH < O. A comparison of the thermochemical balance for the
isodesmic displacement of the side-arm interactions with PH3 as a probe ligand indicated that the Ni–P bond in a PCCCP-type
pincer complex is far less difficult to break compared with that in
a POCOP-type complex. As a result, with the same donor substituents
and the same auxiliary ligand, the POCOP-type pincer complexes are
thermodynamically more stable than the PCCCP complexes. The influence
of other backbone and donor substitutions as well as the pincer platform
composition on the M–Cipso, M–P, and M–X
bond lengths, relative bond strengths, and P–M–P bite
angles was also discussed.