Palladium fluoride complexes: one more step toward metal-mediated C-F bond formation.

The first molecular complexes of palladium containing a Pd-F bond, both fluorides and bifluorides, were synthesized and fully characterized in the solid state and in solution. Reactivity studies of the Pd fluoride complexes revealed their unexpected stability and unusual chemical properties, different from the hydroxo, chloro, bromo, and iodo analogues. A novel efficient method to generate "naked fluoride" was developed using [(Ph(3)P)(2)Pd(F)Ph]. The naked fluoride from the Pd source fluorinated dichloromethane, deprotonated chloroform, and catalyzed di- and trimerization of hexafluoropropene under uncommonly mild conditions.