A new potentially hexadentate P2N4 ligand has been prepared and its coordination chemistry to Pd(II) and Pt(II) investigated. The ligand bonds in a chelating fashion via the diphosphine backbone to PdCl2 and PtCl2 while the appended pyridyl groups remain non-bonding. Abstraction of the chloride ions from the platinum complex results in fluxional exchange of the pyridyl groups in solution at room temperature on the NMR timescale. X-ray crystallographic analysis of this platinum complex revealed a tetracoordinate complex with two bound and two free pyridyl arms.
