Amazing example of the retention of an unusual domed structure of PdII 3,5-di(tert-butyl)-2-oxyazobenzene in the crystal and gas phase

The structure of the newly synthesized palladium( ii ) 3,5-di( tert -butyl)-2-oxyazobenzene, PdL 2 , was determined by X-ray diffraction. The metal chelate was found to adopt an unusual domed conformation, with the trans -planar coordination unit at the top. This is the first complex of this class, the domed structure of which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and in which the planes of the ligands are cis with respect to the coordination unit. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to examine the possibility of the existence in the gas phase of the compound PdL 2 with this unusual structure and of related Pd- and Ni-based model complexes.