Palladium(II) compounds with planar chirality.: X-Ray crystal structures of (+)-(R)-[{(η5-C5H4)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7}Fe(η5-C5H5)] and (+)-(Rp-R)-[Pd{[(Et-C=C-Et)2(η5-C5H3)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7]Fe(η5-C5H5)}Cl]

A wide variety of planar chiral cyclopalladated compounds of general formulae [Pd{[(eta(5)-C5H3)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7]Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)}Cl(L)] (with L=py-d(5) or PPh3), [Pd{[(eta(5)-C5H3)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7]Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)}(acac)] or [Pd{[(R-1-C=C-R-2)(2)(eta(5)-C5H3)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7]Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)}Cl] (with R-1=R-2=Et; R-1=Me, R-2-Ph; R-1=H, R-2-Ph; R-1=R-2=Ph; R-1=R-2=CO2Me or R-1=CO2Et, R-2=Ph) are reported. The diastereomers {(R-p,R) and (S-p,R)} of these compounds have been isolated by either column chromatography or fractional crystallization. The free ligand (R)-(+)-[{(eta(5)-C5H4)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7}Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)] (1) and compound (+)-(R-p,R)-[Pd{[(Et-C=C-Et)(2)(eta(5)-C5H4)-CH=N-CH(Me)-C10H7]Fe(eta(5)-C5H5)}Cl] (7a) have also been characterized by X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical studies based on cyclic voltammetries of all the compounds are also reported. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.