Synthesis, Characterization, and Thermolysis Studies of Binary Malondialdehydate Complexes of Copper(II) and Palladium(II)

An improved preparation of the malondialdehydate (mda) salt Na(mda)(H2O) is reported; also described are preparations of copper(II) and palladium(II) complexes of mda and its 2-phenylmalondialdehydate (2-Ph-mda) analog. Crystal structures of Na(mda)(H2O), Cu(mda)2, Cu(2-Ph-mda)2, Pd(mda)2, and Pd(2-Ph-mda)2 are described, along with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data. Cu(mda)2 and Pd(mda)2 deposit metallic thin films at 130 °C under chemical vapor deposition (CVD) conditions. Mechanistic studies show that Cu(mda)2 transforms to copper metal by means of a ligand fragmentation pathway that involves carbon–carbon bond scission reactions.