Electrochemical and Chemical Oxidation of [Pt2(μ-pyrophosphite)4]4− Revisited: Characterization of a Nitrosyl Derivative, [Pt2(μ-pyrophosphite)4(NO)]3−

Electrochemical studies of the salts [cat](4)[Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)] (cat(+) = Bu(4)N(+) or PPN(+) [Ph(3)P=N=PPh(3)](+); pop = pyrophosphite, [P(2)O(5)H(2)](2-)) have been carried out in dichloromethane. In agreement with published studies of K(4)[Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)] in water and [Ph(4)As](4)[Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)] in acetonitrile, the [Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)](4-) anion is found to undergo an initial one-electron oxidation under conditions of cyclic voltammetry to a short-lived trianion, [Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)](3-). However, in the more weakly coordinating solvent dichloromethane, [Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)](3-) appears to undergo oligomerization instead of solvent-induced disproportionation; thus the overall process remains a one-electron reaction rather than an overall two-electron oxidative addition process, even under long time-scale, bulk electrolysis conditions. Chemical oxidation of [cat](4)[Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)] with [NO][BF(4)] or AgBF(4) gives mainly a dark, insoluble, ill-defined solid that appears to contain Pt(III) according to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In the case of [NO][BF(4)], a second reaction product, an orange solid, has been identified as a nitrosyl complex, [cat](3)[Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)(NO)]. The X-ray structure of the PPN(+) salt shows the anion to consist of the usual lantern-shaped Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4) framework with an unusually large Pt-Pt separation [2.8375(6) A]; one of the platinum atoms carries a bent nitrosyl group [r(N-O) = 1.111(15) A; angle(Pt-N-O) = 118.1(12) degrees] occupying an axial position. The nitrosyl group migrates rapidly on the (31)P NMR time-scale between the metal atoms at room temperature but the motion is slow enough at 183 K that the expected two pairs of inequivalent phosphorus nuclei can be observed. The X-ray photoelectron (XP) spectrum of the nitrosyl-containing anion confirms the presence of two inequivalent platinum atoms whose 4f(7/2) binding energies are in the ranges expected for Pt(II) and Pt(III); an alternative interpretation is that the second platinum atom has a formal oxidation number of +4 and that its binding energy is modified by the strongly sigma-donating NO(-) ligand. Reduction of [Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)X(2)](4-) (X = Cl, Br, I) in dichloromethane corresponds to a chemically reversible, electrochemically irreversible two-electron process involving loss of halide and formation of [Pt(2)(mu-pop)(4)](4-), as is the case in more strongly coordinating solvents.