From Pincer to Paddlewheel: C–H and C–S Bond Activation at Bis(2-pyridylthio)methane by Palladium(II)

The bis­(2-pyridylthio)­methanidopalladium­(II) pincer complex (1), containing a Pd–C bond, was obtained from the reaction of bis­(2-pyridylthio)­methane (H2L) with palladium­(II) acetate in toluene under reflux. When palladium­(II) trifluoroacetate was used, H2L reacted to generate the tetrakis­(pyridine-2-thiol)­palladium­(II) complex (2). Complex 2 was converted to a heterobimetallic palladium­(II)–iron­(II) paddlewheel complex (3) upon treatment with iron­(II) triflate in the presence of a base in acetonitrile at room temperature