STOICHIOMETRIC AND CATALYTIC FUNCTIONALIZATION REACTIONS OF ALKYNES AT TRANSITION-METAL COMPLEXES STABILIZED BY TRIPODAL POLYPHOSPHINE LIGANDS

Tripodal polyphosphine ligands react with transition metal ions to form either unsaturated fragments or, in combination with suitable coligands, highly reactive complexes. Both the fragments and the complexes appear appropriately designed to interact with ethyne and 1-alkynes. By a purposeful variation of the polyphosphine ligand, metal, coligand and reaction conditions, a great variety of organometallic and organic products can be stoichiometrically and catalytically synthesized in a highly selective manner. The use of polyphosphine ligands allows the isolation and characterization of many intermediate species not normally seen in catalysis cycles.