Unexpected formation of dihaloplatinum(II) and platinum(IV) complexes in the reaction of [PtMe2(bu2bpy)] with 1,2-dibromotetrachloroethane: Crystal structure of trans-[PtMe2BrCl(bu2bpy)]

The platinum(II) complex [PtMe2(bu2bpy)] (bu2bpy = 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine) (1) reacted with 1,2-dibromotetrachloroethane in a 2:1 mole ratio of Pt(II): (CBrCl2)2 to afford trans-[PtMe2BrCl(bu2bpy)] (2) and [PtCl2(bu2bpy)] (3). The 1H NMR spectroscopy shows that the Pt–Me bond cleavage is mainly involved after a fast oxidative addition reaction. Complex trans-[PtMe2BrCl(bu2bpy)] (2) has been characterized by X-ray diffraction which shows that platinum adopts an octahedral geometry.