Mechanochemistry, which involves chemical reactions driven by mechanical forces, is aligned with green chemistry. Organometallic mechanochemistry remains relatively unexplored, and only recently key organometallic complexes have been synthesized via this method. Despite the widespread use of Pd(II) complexes in catalysis3,4 and medicinal chemistry,5 their mechanochemical synthesis and application have received limited attention.
In this study, the focus was on the synthesis of Pd(II) complexes via mechanochemistry from commercial halogenated and halogen like Pd(II) precursors and commercial ligands. The synthesized complexes have the following structures: [Pd(COD)X2] with 1,5-cyclooctadiene; [Pd(N⌒N)X2] and [Pd(N⌒N’⌒N)X]X with bidentate and tridentate N-ligands; [Pd(PPh3)2X2] and [Pd(P⌒P)X2] featuring mono- and bidentate P-ligands. Synthesis reactions never exceed two hours of mill, and they proceed with high to quantitative yields and excellent product purity. These favorable outcomes are supported by positive green chemistry metrics.
