Inner‐sphere reorganization for redox pairs M(NH3)62+/3+ (M=Mn,Fe, and Co): Models and calculations

The inner‐shell reorganization and activation models of the electron‐transfer reactions of transition‐metal hexammine complexes are presented. The inner‐shell reorganization and activation energies of several hexammine redox pairs M(NH₃)₆^2+/3+ (M=Mn, Fe, and Co) in self‐exchange reactions are studied by different formalisms. The extent of the anharmonicities in the vibration between the metal–ion and the ligands in the reorganization process of these complexes is determined. The inner‐shell barriers of these redox pairs are dependent on reorganization model used. The contribution of the individual reactants to the inner‐shell barrier is sensitive to the model used. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

Investigation of the stereodynamics of tris‐(α‐diimine)–transition metal complexes by enantioselective dynamic MEKC

Enantiomerization of octahedral tris(α‐diimine)–transition metal complexes was investigated by enantioselective dynamic MEKC. Varying both the transition metal ion (Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Ni²⁺) and the bidentate diimine ligand (1,10‐phenanthroline and 2,2′‐bipyridyl), the enantiomer separations were performed either in a 100 mM sodium tetraborate buffer (pH 9.3) or in a 100 mM sodium tetraborate/sodium dihydrogenphosphate buffer (pH 8.0) both containing sodium cholate as chiral surfactant. The unified equation of dynamic chromatography was employed to determine apparent reaction rate constants from the electropherograms showing distinct plateau formation. Apparent activation parameters ΔH^? and ΔS^? were calculated from temperature‐dependent measurements between 10.0 and 35.0°C in 2.5 K steps. It was found that the nature of the central metal ion and the ligand strongly influence the enantiomerization barrier. Surprisingly, complexes containing the 2,2′‐bipyridyl ligand show highly negative activation entropies between ?103 and ?116 J (K mol)^?1 while the activation entropy of tris(1,10‐phenanthroline) complexes is positive indicating a different mechanism of interconversion. Furthermore, it was found that the Ni²⁺ complexes are stereostable under the conditions investigated here making them a lucent target as enantioselective catalysts.     

Why Is the Spontaneous Deprotonation of [Cu(uracil)2]2+ Complexes Accompanied by Enolization of the System?

The reaction‐force formalism is applied to carry out a detailed analysis of the mechanisms behind the enolization processes undergone by the complexes formed on interaction of uracil dimers with Cu²⁺ ions after spontaneous deprotonation of the resulting complexes. These enolization processes apparently involve a single proton transfer (PT) from an NH group to a carbonyl group of the same uracil moiety, which should involve a rather high activation barrier that prevents the process occurring. However, the reaction‐force, chemical‐potential, and electronic‐flux profiles unambiguously indicate that the actual mechanism involves three low‐barrier elementary steps, and this explains why enolization of the [Cu(uracil?H)(uracil)]⁺ complexes is a highly facile, assisted PT process. All of the observed PT processes show a typical profile for both the chemical potential and the electronic flux associated with the bond‐breaking and the bond‐formation processes.     

Investigation of the Interaction between Nitrite Ion and Bovine Serum Albumin Using Spectroscopic and Molecular Docking Techniques

The interaction between nitrite ion and bovine serum albumin (BSA), in an aqueous environment, was studied using spectroscopic methods, including fluorescence quenching technique, synchronous fluorescence, UV? Vis spectrophotometry and Resonance Rayleigh Scattering (RRS), and molecular docking technique. The experimental results showed that nitrite ion effectively quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA with the static quenching. The ion‐BSA binding constant was determined to be 3.69×10³ L mol^?1. As the results showed the stoichiometry of binding nitrite ion to BSA was 1 : 1. Furthermore the thermodynamic parameters and nature of the binding force were calculated. The negative ΔH^o and ΔS^o values of reaction between nitrite ion and BSA indicated the predominant forces in the ion‐BSA interactions are hydrogen bonding interactions. Based on the Förster’s theory of non‐radiative energy transfer, the binding distance between nitrite ion and the inner tyrosine and tryptophan residue of BSA were determined to be 2.16 nm. Furthermore binding site of this ion on BSA was carried out by molecular docking technique.     

Control of a photoswitching chelator by metal ions: DFT,NBO, and QTAIM analysis

Ability of aroylhydrazones to change conformation upon interaction with light makes them promising candidates for molecular switches. Isomerization can be controlled through complexation with selected metal ions which bind with different affinity. N′‐[1‐(2‐hydroxyphenyl)ethyliden]iso‐nicotinoylhydrazide (HAPI) is an example of a dual‐wavelenght photoswitching molecule, whose complexation with metal ions was recently experimentally investigated (Franks et al. J. Inorg. Chem. 2014, 53, 1397). In this contribution, complexes between HAPI and K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cu⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions were investigated using Density Functional Theory, Natural Bond Order analysis, and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules. The most important parameters that determine complex stability are found to be ion radius and charge transferred from ligands to the ion: smaller ion radii and larger CT values characterize formation of more stable complexes. Our results explain experimentally observed effect of different metal ions on photoisomerization through determination of metal ion affinity (MIA): photoisomerization is inhibited if MIA exceeds 100 kcal/mol; for MIA between 50 and 100 kcal/mol excess of metal ions prevents isomerization, whereas in case of MIA below 50 kcal/mol metal ions have no influence on light–HAPI interaction. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effect of metal cations [Li+, Na+, K+, Be2+, Mg2+, and Ca2+] on the structure of 2‐(3′‐hydroxy‐2′‐pyridyl)benzoxazole: A theoretical investigation

Density functional theory calculations were performed at the B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) level to systematically explore the geometrical multiplicity and binding strength for the complexes formed by alkaline and alkaline earth metal cations, viz. Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Be²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ (Mⁿ⁺, hereinafter), with 2‐(3′‐hydroxy‐2′‐pyridyl)benzoxazole. A total of 60 initial structures were designed and optimized, of which 51 optimized structures were found, which could be divided into two different types: monodentate complexes and bidentate complexes. In the cation‐heteroatom complex, bidentate binding is generally stronger than monodentate binding, and of which the bidentate binding with five‐membered ring structure has the strongest interaction. Energy decomposition revealed that the total binding energies mainly come from electrostatic interaction for alkaline metal ion complexes and orbital interaction energy for alkaline earth metal ion complex. In addition, the electron localization function analysis show that only the Be? O and Be? N bond are covalent character, and others are ionic character. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Energy Landscape of Aptamer/Protein Complexes Studied by Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Aptamers are single‐stranded nucleic acid molecules selected in vitro to bind to a variety of target molecules. Aptamers bound to proteins are emerging as a new class of molecules that rival commonly used antibodies in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. With the increasing application of aptamers as molecular probes for protein recognition, it is important to understand the molecular mechanism of aptamer–protein interaction. Recently, we developed a method of using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the single‐molecule rupture force of aptamer/protein complexes. In this work, we investigate further the unbinding dynamics of aptamer/protein complexes and their dissociation‐energy landscape by AFM. The dependence of single‐molecule force on the AFM loading rate was plotted for three aptamer/protein complexes and their dissociation rate constants, and other parameters characterizing their dissociation pathways were obtained. Furthermore, the single‐molecule force spectra of three aptamer/protein complexes were compared to those of the corresponding antibody/protein complexes in the same loading‐rate range. The results revealed two activation barriers and one intermediate state in the unbinding process of aptamer/protein complexes, which is different from the energy landscape of antibody/protein complexes. The results provide new information for the study of aptamer–protein interaction at the molecular level.     

Theoretical study of the atrazine pesticide interaction with pyrophyllite and Ca2+‐montmorillonite clay surfaces

Atrazine, a pesticide belonging to the s‐triazine family, is one of the most employed pesticides. Due to its negative impact on the environment, it has been forbidden within the European Union since 2004 but remains abundant in soils. For these reasons, its behavior in soils and water at the atomic scale is of great interest. In this article, we have investigated, using DFT, the adsorption of atrazine onto two different clay surfaces: a pyrophyllite clay and an Mg‐substituted clay named montmorillonite, with Ca²⁺ compensating cations on its surface. The calculations show that the atrazine molecule is physisorbed on the pyrophyllite surface, evidencing the necessity to use dispersion‐corrected computational methods. The adsorption energies of atrazine on montmorillonite are two to three times larger than on pyrophyllite, depending on the adsorption pattern. The computed adsorption energy is of about −30 kcal mol⁻¹ for the two most stable montmorillonite‐atrazine studied isomers. For these complexes, the large adsorption energy is related to the strong interaction between the chlorine atom of the atrazine molecule and one of the Ca²⁺ compensating cations of the clay surface. The structural modifications induced by the adsorption are localized: for the surface, close to substitutions and particularly below the Ca²⁺ cations; in the molecule, around the chlorine atom when Ca²⁺ interacts strongly with this basic site in a monodentate mode. This study shows the important role of the alkaline earth cations on the adsorption of atrazine on clays, suggesting that the atrazine pesticide retention will be significant in Ca²⁺‐montmorillonite clays. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synthesis of Small‐Molecule Fluorescent Probes for the In Vitro Imaging of Calcium‐Activated Potassium Channel KCa3.1

Small‐molecule probes for the in vitro imaging of K_Ca3.1 channel‐expressing cells were developed. Senicapoc, showing high affinity and selectivity for the K_Ca3.1 channels, was chosen as the targeting component. BODIPY dyes 15 – 20 were synthesized and connected by a Cu^I‐catalyzed azide–alkyne [3+2]cycloaddition with propargyl ether senicapoc derivative 8 , yielding fluorescently labeled ligands 21 – 26 . The dimethylpyrrole‐based imaging probes 25 and 26 allow staining of K_Ca3.1 channels in NSCLC cells. The specificity was shown by removing the punctate staining pattern by pre‐incubation with senicapoc. The density of K_Ca3.1 channels detected with 25 and by immunostaining was identical. The punctate structure of the labeled channels could also be observed in living cells. Molecular modeling showed binding of the senicapoc‐targeting component towards the binding site within the ion channel and orientation of the linker with the dye along the inner surface of the ion channel.     

Chirality Transfer in Propeller‐Shaped Cyclen?Calcium(II) Complexes: Metal‐Coordinating and Ion‐Pairing Anion Procedures

A series of quadruple‐stranded Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ complexes with octadentate cyclen ligands was synthesized to produce complexes that contained four different side‐arm combinations (one triazole? coumarin group and three pyridine groups ( 1 ), four pyridine groups ( 2 ), one triazole? coumarin group and three quinoline groups ( 3 ), and four quinoline groups ( 4 )). X‐ray crystallographic analysis revealed that no significant changes occurred in the stereostructure of these complexes upon replacing one pyridine group with a triazole? coumarin moiety, or by replacing Na⁺ ions with Ca²⁺ ions, although the coordination number of the complexes in the solid state decreased when pyridine groups were replaced by quinoline groups. In solution, all of the side arms were arranged in a propeller‐like pattern to yield an enantiomer pair of Δ and Λ forms in each metal complex. The addition of a tert‐butoxycarbonyl (Boc)‐protected amino acid anion, that is, a coordinative chiral carboxylate anion, to the cyclen? Ca²⁺ complex induced circular dichroism (CD) signals in the aromatic region by forming a 1:1 mixture of diastereomeric ternary complexes with opposite complex chirality, whilst the corresponding Na⁺ complexes rarely showed any response. In complexes 1 ‐Ca²⁺ and 3 ‐Ca²⁺, this chirality‐transfer process was efficiently followed by considering the induction of the CD signals at two different wavelengths, that is, the coumarin‐chromophore region and the aza‐aromatic region. The sign and intensity of the CD signal were significantly dependent on both the nature of the aza‐aromatic moiety and the enantiomeric purity of the external anion. These Ca²⁺ complexes worked as effective probes for the determination of the enantiomeric excess of the chiral anion. The cyclen? Ca²⁺ complexes also interacted with the non‐coordinative Δ‐TRISPHAT anion through an ion‐pairing mechanism to achieve chirality transfer from the anion to the metal complex; both complexes 1 ‐Ca²⁺ and 3 ‐Ca²⁺ clearly showed induced CD signals in the coumarin‐chromophore region, owing to ion‐paring interactions with the Δ‐TRISPHAT anion. Thus, the proper combination of an octadentate cyclen ligand and a metal center demonstrated effective chirality transfer.     

Alkali‐Metal‐Ion‐Assisted Hydrogen Atom Transfer in the Homocysteine Radical

Intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) was examined in homocysteine (Hcy) thiyl radical/alkali metal ion complexes in the gas phase by combination of experimental techniques (ion‐molecule reactions and infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy) and theoretical calculations. The experimental results unequivocally show that metal ion complexation (as opposed to protonation) of the regiospecifically generated Hcy thiyl radical promotes its rapid isomerisation into an α‐carbon radical via HAT. Theoretical calculations were employed to calculate the most probable HAT pathway and found that in alkali metal ion complexes the activation barrier is significantly lower, in full agreement with the experimental data. This is, to our knowledge, the first example of a gas‐phase thiyl radical thermal rearrangement into an α‐carbon species within the same amino acid residue and is consistent with the solution phase behaviour of Hcy radical.     

Theoretical study on the mechanisms of the nucleophilic substitution reactions of hydrosulfide ion and halomethanes

Three species involved in the nucleophilic substitution reaction of hydrosulfide ion and halomethanes are investigated by ab initio calculations. Geometries for stationary structures along the reaction paths are fully performed with the second‐order Møller–Plesset perturbation approximation with the cc‐pVDZ basis set. The monomer geometries determined by the MP2 method match the experimental results very well. Single point energy calculations are carried out at the coupled cluster with perturbative triple excitations CCSD (T) theory with aug‐cc‐pVDZ basis set. Halomethanes have three conformers here, which lead to the three product channels, HSCH₃ + F^?1, HSCH₃ + Cl^?1, and HSCH₃ + Br^?1. The investigation encompasses the six complexes formed among three channels, respectively. By selecting the six complexes as the model, we investigate the binding energy, topological property of the electron charge density and their Laplacian in detail theoretically. Electrostatic density potential maps of halomethanes are generated for the determination of attractive interaction sites. It is proved that the similar misshaped electron clouds of the three halogen atoms result in the similar properties of the carbon‐halogen bonds, and reveals that the product ion‐dipole complexes interactions are predominantly electrostatic in nature. The calculated results predict the binding energy of the most stable complex in six complexes is ?47.06 kcal/mol at the MP2 level of theory. The second channel has the lowest energy barrier, which is ?3.63 kcal/mol at the CCSD (T) levels of theory, is expected to be the most important pathway. It occurs via C? Cl cleavage accompanied by C? S bond formation. The other two channels have higher energy barriers and are expected to have smaller rates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Nonempirical conformational analysis of oubaine molecule chelate complexes with Ca2+ and possible mechanism of modulation of transductor function of Na+,K+-ATPhase

Complete conformational analysis of chelate complex of oubaine molecule with Ca²⁺ in 1:1 stoichiometry is carried out. Complete ab initio optimization of geometric parameters of all possible structures of the complexes is performed in the framework of restricted Hartree-Fock method with 6–31G* basis using GAMESS program. Influence of the complex formation on the steric structure and electronic structure of oubaine molecule is analyzed. Oubaine molecule is found capable of binding Ca²⁺ by two modes. Mechanism of binding of oubaine molecule with transductor site of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPhase is proposed: ligand-receptor interaction is assumed to be realized in account of formation of trial complex oubaine-Ca²⁺-Na⁺,K⁺-ATPhase, with main contribution to the interaction energy of ion-ion bonds formation between Ca²⁺ and nucleophilic functional groups in the composition of the mentioned binding site of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPhase.     

Recoordination of a metal ion in the cavity of a crown compound: a theoretical study 2.* Effect of the metal ion— solvent interaction on the conformations of calcium complexes of arylazacrown ethers

The effect of the local interaction of a metal ion with the solvent on the conformations of calcium complexes of arylazacrown ethers and an azacrown-containing dye was studied using the density functional method with the PBE and B3LYP functionals. The structures were studied and the interaction energies were determined for the calcium complexes with n = 1–12 water or acetonitrile molecules. It was found that the inner coordination sphere of the free Ca²⁺ cation contains six H₂O or seven MeCN molecules. The cation—acetonitrile interaction energy is higher than the cation—water interaction energy up to the moment the second solvation shell of the cation is almost complete (n = 11). The inner coordination sphere of Ca²⁺ in the macrocycle cavity contains at most three water molecules, while the fourth one is displaced to the second coordination sphere. Taking into account the local interaction with the solvent (H₂O or MeCN), the conformers of the calcium complexes of arylazacrown ethers and the azacrown-containing dye were studied. It was shown that the presence of two to four water molecules in the coordination sphere of the cation reduces the relative energies of the conformers with broken metal—nitrogen bond, thus favoring ground-state metal recoordination. For Part 1, see Ref. 1. Dedicated to Academician A.L. Buchachenko on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1981–1992, September, 2005.     

利用基于Gouy-Chapman模型的离子有效电荷定量表征离子特异性效应

离子特异性效应在固-液界面反应中是普遍存在的. 近期研究指出, 在较低电解质浓度的某些体系中, 离子特异性效应可能并非来源于色散力、经典诱导力、离子半径或水合半径的大小等, 而是界面附近强电场中的离子极化作用. 这种作用可使界面附近的吸附态反号离子被强烈极化(高达经典极化的10⁴倍). 强烈极化的结果将导致离子在界面附近受到的库仑力远远超过离子电荷所能产生的库仑力, 这体现在离子的有效电荷将远大于离子的实际电荷. 因此胶体体系中基于这种强极化的离子有效电荷可以用来定量表征离子特异性效应的强度. 本研究在蒙脱石-胡敏酸混合悬液凝聚过程中发现了Na⁺、K⁺、Ca²⁺、Cu²⁺四种离子的离子特异性效应, 提出了基于激光散射技术测定离子有效电荷的方法, 并成功获得了被强烈极化后的离子有效电荷数值. 实验测得的Na⁺、K⁺、Ca²⁺、Cu²⁺四种离子的有效电荷值分别为: Z_{Na(effective)}=1.46, Z_K(effective)=1.86, Z_{Ca(effective)}=3.92, Z_{Cu(effective)}=6.48.该结果表明: (1) 离子在强电场中的极化将大大提高离子的有效电荷, 从而极大地增强离子所受的库仑作用力;(2) 离子的电子层数越多, 离子极化越强烈, 离子的有效电荷增加越多.     

Double Metal Ions Competitively Control the Guest‐Sensing Process: A Facile Approach to Stimuli‐Responsive Supramolecular Gels

A facile approach to the design of stimuli‐responsive supramolecular gels (SRSGs) termed double‐metal‐ion competitive coordination control is reported. By this means, the fluorescence signals and guest‐selective responsiveness of the SRSGs are controlled by the competitive coordination of two different metal ions with the gelators and the target guest. To demonstrate this approach, a gelator G2 based on multiple self‐assembly driving forces was synthesized. G2 could form Ca²⁺‐coordinated metallogel CaG with strong aggregation‐induced emission (AIE). Doping of CaG with Cu²⁺ results in AIE quenching of CaG and formation of Ca²⁺‐ and Cu²⁺‐based metallogel CaCuG. CaCuG could fluorescently detect CN^? with specific selectivity through the competitive coordination of CN^? with the Cu²⁺ and the coordination of Ca²⁺ with G2 again. This approach may open up routes to novel stimuli‐responsive supramolecular materials.     

Influence of Peripheral Substitution on the Magnetic Behavior of Single‐Ion Magnets Based on Homo‐ and Heteroleptic TbIII Bis(phthalocyaninate)

A series of homoleptic ([Tb^III(Pc)₂]) and heteroleptic ([Tb^III(Pc)(Pc′)]) Tb^III bis(phthalocyaninate) complexes that contain different peripheral substitution patterns (i.e., tert‐butyl or tert‐butylphenoxy groups) have been synthesized in their neutral radical forms and then reduced into their corresponding anionic forms as stable tetramethylammonium/tetrabutylammonium salts. All of these compounds were spectroscopically characterized and their magnetic susceptibility properties were investigated. As a general trend, the radical forms exhibited larger energy barriers for spin reversal than their corresponding reduced compounds. Remarkably, heteroleptic complexes that contain electron‐donor moieties on one of the two Pc ligands show higher effective barriers and blocking temperatures than their homoleptic derivatives. This result is assigned to the elongation of the N? Tb distances in the substituted macrocycle, which brings the terbium(III) ion closer to the unsubstituted Pc, thus enhancing the ligand‐field effect. In particular, heteroleptic [Tb^III(Pc)(Pc′)] complex 4 , which contains one octa(tert‐butylphenoxy)‐substituted Pc ring and one bare Pc ring, exhibits the highest effective barrier and blocking temperature for a single‐molecule magnet reported to date.     

A Theoretical Investigation on N7(H)→N9(H)Tautomerization of Isolated and Monohydrated 2,6-Dithiopurine Combined with IPCM Solvent Model

The tautomerization reaction mechanism has been reported between N7(H) and N9(H) of isolated and monohydrated 2,6‐dithiopurine using B3LYP/6‐311+G(d,p). The isodensity polarized continuum model (IPCM) in the self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) method is employed to account for the solvent effect of water on the tautomerization reaction activation energies. The results show that the two pathways P(1) (via the carbene intermediate I1) and P(2) (via the sp³‐hybrid intermediate I2) are found in intramolecular proton transfer, and each pathway is composed by two primary steps. The calculated activation energy barriers of the rate‐determining steps in isolated 2,6‐dithiopurine N7(H)→N9(H) tautomerism are 308.2 and 220.0 kJ·mol^?1 in the two pathways, respectively. Interestingly, in one‐water molecule catalyst, it dramatically lowers the N7(H)→N9(H) energy barriers by the concerted double proton transfer mechanism in P(1), favoring the formation of 2,6‐dithiopurine N9(H). However, the single proton transfer mechanism assisted with out‐of‐plane water in the first step of P(2) increases the activation energy barrier from 220.0 to 232.3 kJ·mol^?1, while the second step is the out‐of‐plane concerted double proton transfer mechanism, indicating that they will be less preferable for proton transfer. Additionally, the results also show that all the pathways are put into the aqueous solution, and the activation energy barriers have no significant changes. Therefore, the long‐range electrostatic effect of bulk solvent has no significant impact on proton transfer reactions and the interaction with explicit water molecules will significantly influence proton transfer reactions.     

Host-guest chemistry of copper(II)-histidine complexes encaged in zeolite Y

Structural analysis has been carried out on copper(II )–histidine (Cu²⁺/His) complexes after immobilization in the pore system of the zeolites NaY and de‐aluminated NaY (DAY). The aim of this study was to determine the geometrical structure of Cu²⁺/His complexes after encaging, to obtain insight into both the effect of the zeolite matrix on the molecular structure and redox properties of the immobilized complexes. In addition to N₂ physisorption and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses, a combination of UV/Vis/NIR, ESR, X‐ray absorption (EXAFS and XANES), IR, and Raman spectroscopy was used to obtain complementary information on both the first coordination shell of the copper ion and the orientation of the coordinating His ligands. It was demonstrated that two complexes ( A and B ) are formed, of which the absolute and relative abundance depends on the Cu²⁺/His concentration in the ion‐exchange solution and on the Si/Al ratio of the zeolite material. In complex A , one His ligand coordinates in a tridentate facial‐like manner through N_am, N_im, and O_c, a fourth position being occupied by an oxygen atom from a zeolite Brønsted site. In complex B , two His ligands coordinate as bidentate ligands; one histamine‐like (N_am, N_im) and the other one glycine‐like (N_am, O_c). In particular the geometrical structure of complex A differs from the preferred structure of Cu²⁺/His complexes in aqueous solutions; this fact implies that the zeolite host material actively participates in the coordination and orientation of the guest molecules. The tendency for complex A to undergo reduction in inert atmosphere to Cu¹⁺ (as revealed by dynamic XANES studies) suggests activation of complex A by the interaction with the zeolite material. EXAFS analysis confirms the formation of a distorted four coordinate geometry of complex A , suggesting that the combination of zeolite and one His ligand force the Cu²⁺ complex into an activated, entactic state.     

Walking Metals in d8⋅⋅⋅d8 Hetero‐bimetallic Complexes: An Original Dynamic Phenomenon

In the course of our investigations on polymetallic complexes derived from 1,3‐bis(thiophosphinoyl)indene (Ind(Ph₂P?S)₂), we observed original fluxional behavior and report herein a joint experimental/computational study of this dynamic process. Starting from the indenylidene chloropalladate species [Pd{Ind(Ph₂P?S)₂}Cl]^? ( 1 ), the new Pd^II???Rh^I hetero‐bimetallic pincer complex [PdCl{Ind(Ph₂P?S)₂}Rh(nbd)] ( 2 ; nbd=2,5‐norbornadiene) was prepared. X‐ray crystallography and DFT calculations substantiate the presence of a d⁸???d⁸ interaction. According to multinuclear variable‐temperature NMR spectroscopic experiments, the pendant {Rh(nbd)} fragment of 2 readily shifts in solution at room temperature between the two edges of the SCS tridentate ligand. To assess the role of the pincer‐based polymetallic structure on this fluxional behavior, the related monometallic Rh complex [Rh{IndH(Ph₂P?S)₂}(nbd)] ( 3 ) was prepared. No evidence for a metal shift was observed in that case, even at high temperature, thus indicating that inplane pincer coordination to the Pd center plays a crucial role. The previously described Pd^II???Ir^I bimetallic complex 4 exhibited fluxional behavior in solution, but with a significantly higher activation barrier than 2 . This finding demonstrates the generality of this metal‐shift process and the strong influence of the involved metal centers on the associated activation barrier. DFT calculations were performed to shed light onto the mechanism of such metal‐shift processes and to identify the factors that influence the associated activation barriers. Significantly different pathways were found for bimetallic complexes 2 and 4 on one hand and the monometallic complex 3 on the other hand. The corresponding activation barriers predicted computationally are in very good agreement with the experimental observations.