Vapour-induced solid-state C–H bond activation for the clean synthesis of an organopalladium biothiol sensor

Abstract

Room-temperature accelerated aging in the solid state has been applied for atom- and energy-efficient activation of either one or two C–H bonds of azobenzene and methyl orange by palladium(II) acetate. Organopalladium complexes are prepared in quantitative reactions without potentially harmful side products. Dicyclopalladated methyl orange is water-soluble and is a selective chromogenic biothiol sensor at physiologically-relevant micromolar concentrations in buffered aqueous media.