Effect of Hydrated Metal Salts on the Coordination Product of Cobalt(II) halide and PNP Type Ligand, 2,6-bis(di-tertbutylphosphinomethyl) pyridine

Chemical treatment of CoX₂^. 6H₂O (X = Cl, Br, I) with the potentially tridentate PNP pincer ligand 2,6-bis(di-tert-butylphosphinomethyl)pyridine in 1:1 molar ratio results in cobalt(II) halide-PNP pincer complexes. The effect of the hydrated metal source on molecular structure and geometry of the complexes was studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The complexes are neutral and the cobalt center adopts a penta-coordinate system with potential atropisomerization. Within the unit cell there are two distinct molecules per asymmetric unit. One of the two phosphorus atoms in the PNP ligand was observed to be partially oxidized to phosphinoxide. Disorder in the structure reflects a mixture of square pyramidal and distorted tetrahedral geometry.