A Y-Shaped Tris-N-Heterocyclic Carbene for the Synthesis of Simultaneously Chelate-Monodentate Dipalladium Complexes

A Y-shaped tris-NHC ligand has been obtained and coordinated to palladium, affording metal complexes with novel topological properties. The tris-NHC ligand is capable of coordinating the two metals, affording two different coordination environments. The X-ray molecular structure of two of the complexes are reported. The three new Pd complexes provide good activity in the hydroarylation of alkynes, although we did not find any clear evidence about the benefits of using the dimetallic palladium species in the catalytic outcomes.