Steric, electronic, and secondary effects on the coordination chemistry of ionic phosphine ligands and the catalytic behavior of their metal complexes

The effects of introducing ionic functionalities in phosphine ligands on the coordination chemistry of these ligands and the catalytic behavior of the corresponding metal complexes are reviewed. The steric and electronic consequences of such functionalizations are discussed. Apart from these steric and electronic effects, the presence of charged groups often leads to additional, supramolecular interactions that occur in the second coordination sphere of the metal complex, such as intramolecular, interligand hydrogen bonding and Coulombic repulsion. These interactions can significantly alter the behavior of the phosphine ligand in question. Such effects have been observed in phosphine-metal association/dissociation equilibria, ligand substitution reactions, and stereoisomerism in phosphine-metal complexes. By drawing general conclusions, this review offers an insight into the coordination and catalytic behavior of phosphine ligands containing ionic functionalities and their corresponding metal complexes.     

联三吡啶配体及其衍生物合成进展

金属-配体间的配位作用是超分子化学中最重要的相互作用之一, 寡聚吡啶配体可以与许多过渡金属离子配位, 形成具有独特磁、光物理和电化学性质的过渡金属络合物, 因此联三吡啶配体的合成及其过渡金属络合物性能研究引起化学家的广泛关注. 综述了联三吡啶配体及其衍生物的合成方法, 主要包括成环缩合反应、过渡金属催化的偶联反应以及其它方法, 并选取具有代表性的实例对联三吡啶配体的结构和合成方法进行详细地阐述.     

Transition metal based supramolecular systems: synthesis, photophysics, photochemistry and their potential applications as luminescent anion chemosensors

This review describes our recent research results on several transition-metal based supramolecular systems. A number of self-assembly metallocyclophanes and cages have been prepared. We have found that the photophysical properties of these systems are highly dependent on the nature of the bridging ligands and that many of these metallocyclophanes and cages are capable of binding different guest molecules such as inorganic anions and a variety of aromatic compounds. Moreover, trinuclear (diimine) rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes linked by a stilbene-like ligand exhibit most interesting photoswitching features, where the luminescence from the complexes can be switched on and off by photoinduced ligand isomerization. In addition, a structurally simple and easily synthesized luminescent anion receptor has been recently developed and it displays outstanding sensitivity and selectivity toward anionic species. We also review the synthesis of two shape-persistent hexagonal phenylacetylenes and their use as ligands to synthesize dinuclear transition-metal complexes. The photophysical properties of both phenylacetylenic ligands and their corresponding metal complexes are summarized.     

Antimicrobial,antioxidant and antitumor activities of Nano-Structure Eu (III) and La (III) complexes with nitrogen donor tridentate ligands

Nano structure metal complexes of Eu (III) and La (III) with two different nitrogen donor tridentate ligands: N-(2-Aminoethyl)-1,3-propanediamine “AEPD = L1” and 1-(2-Aminoethyl)piperazine “AEPz = L2” , were prepared. All synthesized compounds were identified and confirmed by elemental analyses, molar conductivity and spectral analyses (UV–Visible, IR and mass). Conductance measurement indicates that all the complexes are non-electrolytic in nature and the complexes were isolated in 1:1 molar ratio (metal: ligand). Thermal decomposition profiles were consistent with the proposed formulations. The ligands behave as a tridentate ligand through three nitrogen centers of donation. The nano-size was investigated by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The geometric structure properties were analyzed using density functional theory (DFT) for ligands and their Lanthanum (III) complexes. The complexes were screened against some bacteria strains, hepatocellular cell line and diphenylhydrazine free radical. The molecular docking active sites interactions were evaluated.     

A brief review of structural concepts of novel supramolecular proton transfer compounds and their metal complexes (part II)

In continuation of our previous brief review of structural concepts of novel supramolecular proton transfer compounds and their metal complexes by Aghabozorg et al. [1], we briefly surveyed the current research in the field of proton transfer compounds supramolecular synthons and their self-assembled metallic complexes from the points of view of Crystal Engineering and Density Functional Theory (DFT) since 2008. Our research groups have recently focused on the proton delivery from acids, which are considered to be suitable proton donors, to amines as proton acceptors. The results were the production of several proton transfer ion pairs possessing some remaining donor sites applied for coordination to metal centers in the preparation of metal-organic compounds. Some of the complexes showed contributions of both cationic and anionic fragments of the starting ion pair, while some others contained only one of these species as ligand. Our review and investigation of compounds revealed that they mainly focused on the concept of supramolecular systems, co-crystallization, stereochemically active lone pairs, coordination polyhedron, mainly on the various interactions involved, including van der Waals, ion pairing, hydrogen bondings, face to face ??-?? stackings and edge to face C-H???, C-O???, N-H3?? and S?S. These interactions were the most commonly used strategies in the extension of supramolecular structures.     

1,10-Phenanthroline: A versatile building block for the construction of ligands for various purposes

This review will cover the developments in the chemistry of phenanthroline-based ligands in the last 10–15 years. 1,10-Phenanthroline (phen) is a classic ligand in coordination chemistry, which couples versatility in metal ion binding with peculiar properties of its complexes. For instance, metal complexes with phenanthroline can be featured by an intense luminescence or can interact with DNA in an intercalative fashion inducing, in some cases, DNA cleavage. For this reason a number of phenanthroline-containing ligands has been recently synthesized by inserting phenanthroline within open-chain or macrocyclic backbone, in order to develop new molecular chemosensors for metal cations and anions, ionophores as well as new intercalating agents for polynucleotides. Furthermore, phenanthroline is rigid and its insertion within cyclic or acyclic structures can impart to the resulting ligand a high degree of pre-organization, affording selective complexing agents. This review will discuss on the coordination, luminescence and intercalating and/or DNA cleaving properties as well as on analytical applications of metal complexes with phenanthroline-based ligands. Particular attention will be devoted to macrocyclic receptors or open-chain ligands that, beside the phenanthroline nitrogen atoms, contain other donor atoms able to interact with the metal cations or anions.     

A survey of interactions in crystal structures of pyrazine‐based compounds

The important role of pyrazine (pz) and its derivatives in fields such as biochemistry and pharmacology, as well as in the study of magnetic properties, is surveyed. Recognition of these properties without extensive investigations into their structural properties is not possible. This review summarizes interactions that exist between these organic compounds by themselves in the solid state, as well as those in coordination polymers with metal ions and in polyoxometalate‐based hybrids. Complexes based on pyrazine ligands can generate metal–organic framework (MOF) structures that bind polyoxometalates (POMs) through covalent and noncovalent interactions. Some biological and magnetic properties involving these compounds are considered and the effect of hydrogen bonding on their supramolecular architectures is highlighted.     

The Metal–Metal‐to‐Ligand Charge Transfer Excited State and Supramolecular Polymerization of Luminescent Pincer PdII–Isocyanide Complexes

Pincer Pd^II–isocyanide complexes are described that display intermolecular interactions and emissive ³MMLCT excited states in aggregation state(s) at room temperature. The intermolecular Pd^II?Pd^II and ligand–ligand interactions drive these complexes to undergo supramolecular polymerization in a living manner. Comprehensive spectroscopic studies reveal a pathway with a kinetic trap that can be modulated by changing the counteranion and metal atom. The Pd^II supramolecular assemblies comprise two different aggregation forms with only one to be emissive. DFT/TDDFT calculations lend support to the MMLCT absorption and emission of these pincer Pd^II–isocyanide aggregates.     

Synthesis,Coordination Chemistry and Bonding of Strong N‐Donor Ligands Incorporating the 1H‐Pyridin‐(2E)‐Ylidene (PYE) Motif

A range of N‐donor ligands based on the 1H‐pyridin‐(2E)‐ylidene (PYE) motif have been prepared, including achiral and chiral examples. The ligands incorporate one to three PYE groups that coordinate to a metal through the exocyclic nitrogen atom of each PYE moiety, and the resulting metal complexes have been characterised by methods including single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy to examine metal–ligand bonding and ligand dynamics. Upon coordination of a PYE ligand to a proton or metal‐complex fragment, the solid‐state structures, NMR spectroscopy and DFT studies indicate that charge redistribution occurs within the PYE heterocyclic ring to give a contribution from a pyridinium–amido‐type resonance structure. Additional IR spectroscopy and computational studies suggest that PYE ligands are strong donor ligands. NMR spectroscopy shows that for metal complexes there is restricted motion about the exocyclic C? N bond, which projects the heterocyclic N‐substituent in the vicinity of the metal atom causing restricted motion in chelating‐ligand derivatives. Solid‐state structures and DFT calculations also show significant steric congestion and secondary metal–ligand interactions between the metal and ligand C? H bonds.     

Synthesis,structure and reactivity of complexes containing a transition metal–bismuth bond

The transition metal chemistry of bismuth has attracted significant interest since the 1970s. The low cost and high abundance of bismuth(III) reagents, such as the trihalides, makes them ideal starting materials and the size of the bismuth centre allows three- and higher-coordinate complexes to be synthesised, in which the bismuth atom is linked to one or more transition metal fragments. The ability to vary these metal fragments gives access to a plethora of available structures, with cyclopentadienylcarbonyl, metal carbonyl and sandwich compounds of bismuth in existence. Significant recent study has focused on applications in catalysis, where bismuth species can act as cross-coupling agents in carbon–carbon, carbon–nitrogen and carbon–oxygen bond forming reactions. Another striking feature is the variation in bonding situations that can be observed when studying the organometallic chemistry of bismuth. For example, dative and covalent interactions have been reported, in addition to cases of dibismuth acting as a two-, four- or six-electron donating ligand. This review aims to demonstrate the multi-faceted nature of the transition metal chemistry of bismuth and provide a detailed coverage of this topic.     

Structures and Interligand Interaction Pattern of Phosphoramidite Pd Complexes by NMR Spectroscopy: Modulations in Extended Interaction Surfaces as Stereoselection Mode of a Privileged Class of Ligands

During the last decade, phosphoramidites have been established as a so‐called privileged class of ligands in various transition metal catalyses. However, the interactions responsible for their favorable properties have hitherto remained elusive. To address this issue, the formation trends, structural features, and interligand interaction patterns of several trans‐ and cis‐[PdLL′Cl₂] complexes have been investigated by NMR spectroscopy. The energetic contribution of their interligand interactions has been measured experimentally using the supramolecular balance for transition‐metal complexes. The resulting energetics combined with an analysis of the electrostatic potential surfaces reveal that in phosphoramidites not only the aryl groups but the complete (CH)CH₃Ph moieties of the amine side chains form extended quasi‐planar CH‐π and π‐π interaction surfaces. Application of the supramolecular balance has shown that modulations in these extended interaction surfaces cause energetic differences that are relevant to enantioselective catalysis. In addition, the energetics of these interligand interactions are quite independent of the actual structures of the complexes. This is shown by similar formation and aggregation trends of complexes with the same ligand but different structures. The extended quasi‐planar electrostatic interaction surface of the (CH)CH₃Ph moiety explains the known pattern of successful ligand modulation and the substrate specificity of phosphoramidites. Thus, we propose modulations in these extended CH‐π and π‐π interaction areas as a refined stereoselection mode for these ligands. Based on the example of phosphoramidites, this study reveals three general features potentially applicable to various ligands in asymmetric catalysis. First, specific combinations of alkyl and aryl moieties can be used to create extended anisotropic interaction areas. Second, modulations in these interaction surfaces cause energetic differences that are relevant to catalytic applications. Third, bulky substituents with matching complementary interaction surfaces should not only be considered in terms of steric hindrance but also in terms of attractive and repulsive interactions, a feature that may often be underestimated in asymmetric catalysis.     

Low-temperature complexes of europium atoms and dimers with cyanophenylpyridines and alkylcyanophenylpyridines

It is shown by IR-Fourier and UV-visible spectroscopy that two biligand complexes of different stoichiometric composition Ln·2L and 2Ln·2L (Ln = Eu; L = 4-pentyl-4′-cyanophenylpyridine) are formed in the course of low-temperature co-condensation of metal and ligand vapors on the surfaces cooled with liquid nitrogen. Quantum-chemical modeling of the equilibrium structures of the mono-and binuclear complexes of europium with unsubstituted cyanophenylpyridyl and para-ethylcyanophenylpyridyl ligands was carried out. The main geometrical parameters of these compounds were determined. For mononuclear complexes, there is a competition between two mechanisms of coordination of the metal atom: formation of sandwich π complexes by interactions with the π orbitals of the aromatic ligand system and σ coordination at the nitrogen atoms of the pyridine ring. The sandwich structures of the binuclear complexes with 4-ethylcyanophenylpyridine are stabilized by N…H intermolecular contacts between the N atom of the cyano group and the terminal H atom of the ethyl group. The spectral shifts and the relative thermal stability of complexes with varying nuclearity are discussed.     

Chemistry and supramolecular chemistry of chromium horseshoes

Synthetic and structural studies of Cr horseshoes are reported which show that these compounds demonstrate a rich supramolecular chemistry through H-bonding interactions, and can act as ligands for metal clusters.     

Thermodynamics, structure and properties of polynuclear lanthanide complexes with a tripodal ligand: insight into their self-assembly

Self-assembly processes between a tripodal ligand and Ln(III) cations have been investigated by means of supramolecular analytical methods. At an equimolar ratio of components, tetranuclear tetrahedral complexes are readily formed in acetonitrile. The structural analysis of the crystallographic data shows a helical wrapping of binding strands around metallic cations. The properties of this series of highly charged 3D compounds were examined by using NMR spectroscopy and optical methods in solution and in the solid state. In the presence of excess metal, a new trinuclear complex was identified. The X-ray crystal structure elucidated the coordination of metallic cations with two ligands of different conformations. By varying the metal/ligand ratio, a global speciation of this supramolecular system has been evidenced with different spectroscopic methods. In addition, these rather complicated equilibria were successfully characterised with the thermodynamic stability constants. A rational analysis of the self-assembly processes was attempted by using the thermodynamic free energy model and the impact of the ligand structure on the effective concentration is discussed.     

Methods for the Synthesis of μ-Hydrocarbon Transition Metal Complexes without Metal–Metal Bonds

Transition metal complexes in which hydrocarbons serve as σ,σ-, σ,π- or π,π-bound bridging ligands are currently of great interest. This review presents efficient and directed syntheses for such compounds, which often have very aesthetic structures. These reactions are among the most important reaction types in modern organometallic chemistry. They can be a useful aid for the synthesis of tailor-made compounds, for example, for models of catalytic processes and, specifically, for the construction of heterometallic compounds. We will discuss reactions of electrophilic complexes with nucleophilic ones, numerous transformations of (functionalized) hydrocarbons with metal complexes, the currently very topical complexes with bridging acetylide and carbide ligands, and organometallic polymers, which can be expected to have interesting and novel materials properties. Chisholm

1 M. H. Chisholm, Polyhedron 1988 , 7, 757–1077.

has described the importance of these complexes as follows: “Central to the development of polynuclear and cluster chemistry are bridging ligands and central to organometallic chemistry are metal–carbon bonds. Thus bridging ligands hold a pivotal role ins the development of Binuclear and polynuclear organometallic chemistry”.     

Highly Phosphorescent Crystals of Square‐Planar Platinum Complexes with Chiral Organometallic Linkers: Homochiral versus Heterochiral Arrangements,Induced Circular Dichroism,and TD‐DFT Calculations

A novel class of chiral luminescent square‐planar platinum complexes with a π‐bonded chiral thioquinonoid ligand is described. Remarkably the presence of this chiral organometallic ligand controls the aggregation of this square planar luminophor and imposes a homo‐ or hetero‐chiral arrangement at the supramolecular level, displaying non‐covalent Pt–Pt and π–π interactions. Interestingly these complexes are highly luminescent in the crystalline state and their photophysical properties can be traced to their aggregation in the solid state. A TD‐DFT calculation is obtained to rationalize this unique behavior.     

Saturated Heavier Group 14 Compounds as ‐Electron‐Acceptor (Z‐Type) Ligands

This review article describes the chemistry of transition‐metal complexes containing heavier group 14 elements (Si, Ge, and Sn) as the σ‐electron‐acceptor (Z‐type) ligands and discusses the characteristics of bonds between the transition metal and Z‐type ligand. Moreover, we review the iridium hydride mediated cleavage of E–X bonds (E=Si, Ge; X=F, Cl), where the key intermediates are pentacoordinate silicon or germanium compounds bearing a dative M→E bond.     

Transition‐Metal Chemistry of Alkaline‐Earth Elements: The Trisbenzene Complexes M(Bz)3 (M=Sr,Ba)

We report the synthesis and spectroscopic identification of the trisbenzene complexes of strontium and barium M(Bz)₃ (M=Sr, Ba) in low‐temperature Ne matrix. Both complexes are characterized by a D₃ symmetric structure involving three equivalent η⁶‐bound benzene ligands and a closed‐shell singlet electronic ground state. The analysis of the electronic structure shows that the complexes exhibit metal–ligand bonds that are typical for transition metal compounds. The chemical bonds can be explained in terms of weak donation from the π MOs of benzene ligands into the vacant (n?1)d AOs of M and strong backdonation from the occupied (n?1)d AO of M into vacant π* MOs of benzene ligands. The metals in these 20‐electron complexes have 18 effective valence electrons, and, thus, fulfill the 18‐electron rule if only the metal–ligand bonding electrons are counted. The results suggest that the heavier alkaline earth atoms exhibit the full bonding scenario of transition metals.     

Transition‐Metal Chemistry of Alkaline‐Earth Elements: The Trisbenzene Complexes M(Bz)3 (M=Sr,Ba)

We report the synthesis and spectroscopic identification of the trisbenzene complexes of strontium and barium M(Bz)₃ (M=Sr, Ba) in low‐temperature Ne matrix. Both complexes are characterized by a D₃ symmetric structure involving three equivalent η⁶‐bound benzene ligands and a closed‐shell singlet electronic ground state. The analysis of the electronic structure shows that the complexes exhibit metal–ligand bonds that are typical for transition metal compounds. The chemical bonds can be explained in terms of weak donation from the π MOs of benzene ligands into the vacant (n?1)d AOs of M and strong backdonation from the occupied (n?1)d AO of M into vacant π* MOs of benzene ligands. The metals in these 20‐electron complexes have 18 effective valence electrons, and, thus, fulfill the 18‐electron rule if only the metal–ligand bonding electrons are counted. The results suggest that the heavier alkaline earth atoms exhibit the full bonding scenario of transition metals.     

含硅金属化合物的研究进展

近年来,含硅金属化合物由于在催化工业等领域的广泛应用受到了化学工作者的重视。本文综述了以硅原子或硅杂链为配体的桥形成的金属络合物、金属硅氧烷、硅-金属化合物、金属不饱和硅化物、含硅多金属络合物五种含硅金属化合物的研究进展。最后,并对该领域的研究方向提出了展望。