[{(C5Me5)2Nb}2PdTe4], a heterometallic palladium telluride cluster with a planar PdTe4 fragment

Abstract: The reaction of (Cp∗ = η 5-C5Me5) with [Pd(DBA)2] (DBA=dibenzylidenacetone) and dppm (bis(diphenylphosphanyl)methane) gave the new tetratelluropalladate cluster (1), which has been characterised by means of elemental analysis, FD-MS and X-ray crystallography. The structure of compound 1 contains a planar PdTe4 rectangle to which two niobocene groups are coordinated. DFT calculations on the hypothetical [PdTe4]2− anion and comparison of the results with those of the W and Ni homologues show that the planar arrangement of Te ligands in 1 is due to the intrinsic property of the central Pd atom. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]