Lewis Base Adducts of Phosphine-Stabilized Pb(II) Cations: Synthesis and Catalytic Hydroamination of Alkynes.

Phosphine-stabilized Pb(II) cations, generated by chloride abstraction from chloroplumbylene 1 , readily react with Lewis bases (L) such as phosphines and amines to give the corresponding donor-acceptor complexes 3 . These complexes 3 react with phenylacetlylene via alkyne insertion into the Pb-L bond to afford the corresponding vinylplumbylenes 4 . Of particular interest, the stable complex 4-HNiPr 2 (with a secondary amine) can be used as a hydroamination catalyst of phenylacetylene.