Heterometallic Effects in Trinuclear Complexes Supported by p‑Terphenyl Diphosphine Ligands

A series of isostructural trinuclear complexes of metal composition Pd2Fe, Pd2Co, and Ni2Fe was synthesized in a stepwise fashion. Using dinuclear precursors (PdI2 and NiI2) supported by p-terphenyl diphosphine ligands allowed for the selective incorporation of a single additional metal center. The effects of both metal composition and ligand electronics on cluster properties were studied. These results highlight the importance of metal–metal interactions in mixed-metal sites of structurally analogous clusters.