Structure and properties of bivalent nickel and copper complexes with pyrazine-amide-thioether coordination: stabilization of trivalent nickel

Acyclic pyrazine-2-carboxamide and thioether containing hexadentate ligand 1,4-bis[o-(pyrazine-2-carboxamidophenyl)]-1,4-dithiobutane (H(2)bpzctb), in its deprotonated form, has afforded light brown [Ni(II)(bpzctb)](1)(S=1) and green [Cu(II)(bpzctb)](2)(S=1/2) complexes. The crystal structures of 1.CH(3)OH and 2.CH(2)Cl(2) revealed that in these complexes the ligand coordinates in a hexadentate mode, affording examples of distorted octahedral M(II)N(2)(pyrazine)N'(2)(amide)S(2)(thioether) coordination. Each complex exhibits in CH(2)Cl(2) a reversible to quasireversible cyclic voltammetric response, corresponding to the Ni(III)/Ni(II)(1) and Cu(II)/Cu(I)(2) redox process. The E(1/2) values reveal that the complexes of bpzctb(2-) are uniformly more anodic by approximately 0.2 V than those of the corresponding complexes with the analogous pyridine ligand, 1,4-bis[o-(pyridine-2-carboxamidophenyl)]-1,4-dithiobutane (H(2)bpctb), attesting that compared to pyridine, pyrazine is a better stabilizer of the Ni(ii) or Cu(i) state. Coulometric oxidation of the previously reported complex [Ni(II)(bpctb)] and 1 generates [Ni(III)(bpctb)](+) and [Ni(III)(bpzctb)](+) species, which exhibit a LMCT transition in the 470--480 nm region and axial EPR spectra corresponding to a tetragonally elongated octahedral geometry. Complex 2 exhibits EPR spectra characteristic of the d(z(2)) ground state.