Identifying intermediates of Ni-containing reactions can be challenging
due to the high reactivity of Ni complexes and their sensitivity toward
air and moisture. Many Ni bidentate phosphine complexes are diamagnetic
and can be analyzed in situ via 31P NMR
spectroscopy, but the oxidation state of Ni is difficult to determine
using 31P chemical shift analysis alone. The J-coupling between P atoms, J
PP, has been proposed to correlate with oxidation
state, but few investigations have looked at how J
PP is affected by parameters such as length of the linker
or identity of the phosphine or other ligands. The present investigation
into the J
PP values of Ni bidentate phosphine
complexes with two-carbon and three-carbon linkers shows that the J
PP values observed in 31P NMR spectra,
|J
PP|, are competent indicators of the
oxidation state at Ni. For complexes with two-carbon linkers, |J
PP| > 40 Hz is typical of Ni0 while
|J
PP| < 30 Hz is typical of NiII; this trend is reversed for complexes with
three-carbon linkers. Additionally, the Lewis acidity of the Ni and
Lewis basicity of the phosphine ligand affect J
PP predictably. For example, increased P-to-Ni donation arising
from more-donating phosphines or more-withdrawing ligands trans to the P atoms causes a more negative J
PP. These results should enable the oxidation state of
Ni and properties of ligands in Ni bidentate phosphine complexes to
be determined in situ during reactions containing
these species.