The reaction of the bis(1,2-dithiolene)
complex [Pd(Me2timdt)2] (1; Me2timdt•– = monoreduced 1,3-dimethyl-2,4,5-trithioxoimidazolidine)
with Br2 yielded the complex [Pd(Me2timdt)Br2] (2), which was reacted with Na2mnt
(mnt2– = 1,2-dicyano-1,2-ethylenedithiolate) to
give the
neutral mixed-ligand complex [Pd(Me2timdt)(mnt)] (3). Complex 3 shows an intense solvatochromic
near-infrared (NIR) absorption band falling between 955 nm in DMF
and 1060 nm in CHCl3 (ε = 10700 M–1 cm–1 in CHCl3). DFT calculations were
used to elucidate the electronic structure of complex 3 and to compare it with those of the corresponding homoleptic complexes 1 and [Pd(mnt)2] (4). An in-depth
comparison of calculated and experimental structural and vis–NIR
spectroscopic properties, supported by IEF-PCM TD-DFT and NBO calculations,
clearly points to a description of 3 as a dithione-dithiolato
complex. For the first time, a broken-symmetry (BS) procedure for
the evaluation of the singlet diradical character (DC) of heteroleptic
bis(1,2-dithiolene) complexes has been developed and applied to complex 3. The DC, predominant for 1 (n
D
C = 55.4%), provides a remarkable contribution
to the electronic structures of the ground states of both 3 and 4, showing a diradicaloid nature (n
D
C = 24.9% and 27.5%, respectively). The computational
approach developed here clearly shows that a rational design of the
DC of bis(1,2-ditiolene) metal complexes, and hence their linear and
nonlinear optical properties, can be achieved by a proper choice of
the 1,2-dithiolene ligands based on their electronic structure.