Palladium and platinum catalyzed hydroselenation of alkynes: SeH vs SeSe addition to CC bond

A mechanistic study of the hydroselenation of alkynes catalyzed by Pd(PPh3)4 and Pt(PPh3)4 has shown that the palladium complex gives products of both SeH and SeSe bond addition to the triple bond of alkynes, while the platinum complex selectively catalyzes SeH bond addition. The key intermediate of PhSeH addition to the metal center, namely Pt(H)(SePh)(PPh3)2, was detected by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The analogous palladium complex rapidly decomposes with evolution of molecular hydrogen. A convenient method was developed for the preparation of Markovnikov hydroselenation products H2CC(SePh)R, and the scope of this reaction was investigated. The first X-ray structure of the Markovnikov product H2CC(SePh)CH2N+HMe2·HOOCCOO− is reported.