Aqueous Organometallic Chemistry with Nitrogen Ligands:  Synthesis of Hydrophilic Platinum(0) Olefin Complexes

Reactions of hydrophilic unsymmetrical pyridine−imine chelating ligands with Pt(η2-norbornene)3 in the presence of olefins that contain electron-withdrawing substituents afford water-soluble three-coordinate Pt(0) complexes. The stability of these organometallic complexes in aqueous solution is dependent on the position of the hydrophilic charged substituents in the chelating ligand and the electronic nature of the coordinated olefin.