The Reactivity of a POCOP-Pincer Ligand based on a Cyclohexane Backbone with Group 10 Metals and the Formation of a C-Pd Carbene
(2026) KEML10 20251Department of Chemistry
- Abstract
- Through the course of this project the reactions of a POPOP-pincer ligand based on a backbone of cyclohexane was studied. It was reacted with different precursors to see what complexes could be formed and if a pincer complex could be used to form a carbene. Previous studies have been carried out on pincer complexes to see if they can act as catalysts for a myriad of different chemical reactions. The research has mostly focused on PCP-pincer ligands which has left a gap in the knowledge of specifically POCOP-pincer ligands and how they react. This project aims to study the interaction between a specific POCOP-pincer ligand and different Pd, Pt, and Ni precursor complexes and if the formed complexes could form a carbene with the POCOP-pincer... (More)
- Through the course of this project the reactions of a POPOP-pincer ligand based on a backbone of cyclohexane was studied. It was reacted with different precursors to see what complexes could be formed and if a pincer complex could be used to form a carbene. Previous studies have been carried out on pincer complexes to see if they can act as catalysts for a myriad of different chemical reactions. The research has mostly focused on PCP-pincer ligands which has left a gap in the knowledge of specifically POCOP-pincer ligands and how they react. This project aims to study the interaction between a specific POCOP-pincer ligand and different Pd, Pt, and Ni precursor complexes and if the formed complexes could form a carbene with the POCOP-pincer ligand. The reactions were carried out using schlenk techniques or in a nitrogen-filled glovebox and they were analysed with H1 and P31-NMR. The results showed that of the four tested metal precursors only PdCl2(CH3CN)2 reacted with the POCOP-pincer ligand while NiBr2(PPh3)2, NiCl2(CH3CN)2, and PtCl2(CH3CN)2 showed no reaction. The Pd-pincer complex was reacted with KHMDS (potassium(K) HexaMethylDiSilazide) and P(OMe)3 and P31-NMR showed that a carbene was slowly formed. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- In order for a chemical reaction to occur the different molecules involved need to get close enough to touch and when they do they need to move fast enough to collide and clump together and not just bounce away. Two simple ways to increase the reaction rate of molecules are to either increase the concentration so that more molecules can collide or to raise the temperature as this speeds up the molecules which causes the collisions to be stronger thus increasing the probability that a collision will initiate a chemical reaction. Unfortunately this is not always feasible to do for example if you are working with low concentrations or with molecules that break apart if they are heated up. In cases like this a catalyst can be used to increase... (More)
- In order for a chemical reaction to occur the different molecules involved need to get close enough to touch and when they do they need to move fast enough to collide and clump together and not just bounce away. Two simple ways to increase the reaction rate of molecules are to either increase the concentration so that more molecules can collide or to raise the temperature as this speeds up the molecules which causes the collisions to be stronger thus increasing the probability that a collision will initiate a chemical reaction. Unfortunately this is not always feasible to do for example if you are working with low concentrations or with molecules that break apart if they are heated up. In cases like this a catalyst can be used to increase the frequency of reactions occurring without changing anything about the environment. A catalyst is a molecule that does not take part in the chemical reaction but instead helps the other molecules react. The catalyst helps out by picking up the molecules that are floating around and when they have gotten ahold of everything it needs it pushes the molecules together so that they can react.
The molecule that was studied in this project is thought to might be able to act as a catalyst for hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions where hydrogen atoms are either added to a molecule to replace a double bond or where hydrogen atoms are removed to form a new double bond. The molecule that was studied is made up of three different parts. The center is made up of a palladium atom that acts as scaffolding for the two other parts. The second part is made up of a chlorine atom or a molecule called trimethyl phosphite where a central phosphorus atom is bonded to the palladium atom with three arms made of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen sticking out depending on if a hydrogen atom has been removed or inserted in the molecule. The third part of the molecule is called a pincer ligand. A pincer ligand is a molecule that can bind to a metal atom at three different spots simultaneously. It can be described as a “crab” that uses its two claws to grab the atom to bring it closer to the bite into it with its mouth. Since the pincer ligand binds to the metal atom at three different spots it forms a rigid molecule which makes it easier for it to act as a catalyst and grab other molecules. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9250004
- author
- Nymberg, Linnea LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- KEML10 20251
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- inorganic chemistry, POCOP, palladium, nickel, platinum
- language
- English
- id
- 9250004
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-03 10:58:21
- date last changed
- 2026-09-03 10:58:21
@misc{9250004,
abstract = {{Through the course of this project the reactions of a POPOP-pincer ligand based on a backbone of cyclohexane was studied. It was reacted with different precursors to see what complexes could be formed and if a pincer complex could be used to form a carbene. Previous studies have been carried out on pincer complexes to see if they can act as catalysts for a myriad of different chemical reactions. The research has mostly focused on PCP-pincer ligands which has left a gap in the knowledge of specifically POCOP-pincer ligands and how they react. This project aims to study the interaction between a specific POCOP-pincer ligand and different Pd, Pt, and Ni precursor complexes and if the formed complexes could form a carbene with the POCOP-pincer ligand. The reactions were carried out using schlenk techniques or in a nitrogen-filled glovebox and they were analysed with H1 and P31-NMR. The results showed that of the four tested metal precursors only PdCl2(CH3CN)2 reacted with the POCOP-pincer ligand while NiBr2(PPh3)2, NiCl2(CH3CN)2, and PtCl2(CH3CN)2 showed no reaction. The Pd-pincer complex was reacted with KHMDS (potassium(K) HexaMethylDiSilazide) and P(OMe)3 and P31-NMR showed that a carbene was slowly formed.}},
author = {{Nymberg, Linnea}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Reactivity of a POCOP-Pincer Ligand based on a Cyclohexane Backbone with Group 10 Metals and the Formation of a C-Pd Carbene}},
year = {{2026}},
}