Cyclopentadienyl allyl palladium

Cyclopentadienyl allyl palladium is an organopalladium compound with formula (C5H5)Pd(C3H5). This reddish solid is volatile with an unpleasant odor. It is soluble in common organic solvents. The molecule consists of a Pd centre sandwiched between a Cp and allyl ligands.

Preparation
This complex is produced by the reaction of allylpalladium chloride dimer with sodium cyclopentadienide:
 * 2 C5H5Na + (C3H5)2Pd2Cl2 → 2 (C5H4)Pd(C3H5) + 2 NaCl

Structure and reactions
The 18-electron complex adopts a half-sandwich structure with Cs symmetry, i.e., the molecule has a plane of symmetry. The complex can be decomposed readily by reductive elimination.
 * C3H5PdC3H5 → Pd(0) + C5H5C3H5

The compound readily reacts with alkyl isocyanides to produce clusters with the approximate formula [Pd(CNR)2]n. It reacts with bulky alkyl phosphines to produce two-coordinated palladium(0) complexes:
 * CpPd(allyl) + 2 PR3 → Pd(PR3)2 + C5H5C3H5

The compound has been used to deposit thin film chemical vapor deposition of metallic palladium.