Pyridazine- versus pyridine-based tridentate ligands in first-row transition metal complexes

A series of first-row transition metal complexes with the unsymmetrically disubstituted pyridazine ligand picolinaldehyde (6-chloro-3-pyridazinyl)hydrazone (PIPYH), featuring an easily abstractable proton in the backbone, was prepared. Ligand design was inspired by literature-known picolinaldehyde 2-pyridylhydrazone (PAPYH). Reaction of PIPYH with divalent nickel, copper, and zinc nitrates in ethanol led to complexes of the type [Cu(II)(PIPYH)(NO(3))(2)] (1) or [M(PIPYH)(2)](NO(3))(2) [M = Ni(II) (2) or Zn(II) (3)]. Complex synthesis in the presence of triethylamine yielded fully- or semideprotonated complexes [Cu(II)(PIPY)(NO(3))] (4), [Ni(II)(PIPYH)(PIPY)](NO(3)) (5), and [Zn(II)(PIPY)(2)] (6), respectively. Cobalt(II) nitrate is quantitatively oxidized under the reaction conditions to [Co(III)(PIPY)(2)](NO(3)) (7) in both neutral and basic media. X-ray diffraction analyses reveal a penta- (1) or hexa-coordinated (2, 3, and 7) metal center surrounded by one or two tridentate ligands and, eventually, κ-O,O' nitrate ions. The solid-state stoichiometry was confirmed by electron impact (EI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. The diamagnetic complexes 5 and 6 were subjected to (1)H NMR spectroscopy, suggesting that the ligand to metal ratio remains constant in solution. Electronic properties were analyzed by means of cyclic voltammetry and, in case of copper complexes 1 and 4, also by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, showing increased symmetry upon deprotonation for the latter, which is in accordance with the proposed stoichiometry [Cu(II)(PIPY)(NO(3))]. Protic behavior of the nickel complexes 2 and 5 was investigated by UV/vis spectroscopy, revealing high π-backbonding ability of the PIPYH ligand resulting in an unexpected low acidity of the hydrazone proton in nickel complex 2.     

Synthesis and coordination chemistry of organoiridium complexes supported by an anionic tridentate ligand

Treatment of deprotonated N-(dimethylaminoethyl)-2-diphenylphosphinoaniline with bis(cyclooctene)iridium chloride dimer affords a thermally stable iridium(I) olefin complex. Infrared analysis of the corresponding monocarbonyl iridium(I) compound indicates a relatively electron rich metal center. Reaction of the iridium(I) cyclooctene complex with iodomethane effects oxidation of the metal yielding a five-coordinate iridium(III) methyl iodide complex which reversibly coordinates tetrahydrofuran. X-ray crystallography confirms coordination of ether to the iridium(III) methyl iodide complex and NMR spectroscopic experiments establish an equilibrium constant of 1.66(9) M for tetrahydrofuran binding. A five-coordinate iridium(III) dimethyl complex has also been prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction. Hydrogenolysis of the dialkyl species permits identification of a short-lived classical iridium(III) dihydride complex.     

Spectroscopic characterization of tetradentate macrocyclic ligand: its transition metal complexes

Manganese(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes are synthesized with a novel tetradentate ligand viz. 1,3,9,11-tetraaza-4,8,12,16-tetraoxo-2,6,10,14-tetrathiacyclohexadecane (L) and characterized by the elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility measurements, electron impact mass, 1H NMR, IR, electronic and EPR spectral studies. The molar conductance measurements of the complexes in DMSO correspond to be nonelectrolytic nature for Mn(II), Co(II) and Cu(II) while 1:2 electrolytes for Ni(II) complexes. Thus these complexes may be formulated as [M(L)X2] and [Ni(L)]X2 (where M: Mn(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) and X = Cl- and NO3-). On the basis of IR, electronic and EPR spectral studies an octahedral geometry has been assigned for Mn(II) and Co(II) complexes, square-planar for Ni(II) whereas tetragonal for Cu(II) complexes. The ligand and its complexes were also evaluated against the growth of bacteria and pathogenic fungi in vitro.     

Synthesis and reactivity of niobium complexes having a tripodal triaryloxide ligand in bidentate, tridentate, and tetradentate coordination modes

The synthesis and reactivity of niobium complexes incorporating a tripodal triphenol (tris(3,5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxylphenyl)methane = H(3)[O(3)]) have been investigated. Addition of one equivalent of NbCl(5) in CH(3)CN to H(3)[O(3)] in toluene led to partial HCl elimination, giving [H(O(3))]NbCl(3)(CH(3)CN) (1) with a bidendtate bis(aryloxide) ligand and a pendant phenol arm. Treatment of 1 with THF afforded [H(O(3))]NbCl(3)(THF) (2). Deprotonation of 1 with NEt(3) in toluene promoted coordination of the pendant phenol group to generate (Et(3)NH)[(syn-O(3))NbCl(3)] (3-syn). Prolonged heating of 3-syn resulted in clean conversion to the anti isomer (3-anti). Attempted deprotonation of 2 with PhCH(2)MgCl provided [H(O(3))]Nb(CH(2)Ph)(3) (4), in which alkylation took place at the metal center but the pendant phenol arm remained intact. When 3-syn was treated with PhCH(2)MgCl, [O(3)C]Nb(CH(2)Ph) (5) was produced via C-H activation of the methine C-H bond. The analogous reaction with 3-anti provided a benzylidene complex [anti-O(3)]Nb(CHPh)(THF) (6). During the course of the reaction, the anti ligand conformation is retained. Upon heating, 4 underwent methine C-H and phenol O-H activation, yielding the metalatrane 5. Complexes 1, 3-syn, 3-anti, 4, and 5 were characterized by X-ray diffraction.     

Structural diversity in the coordination of amidines and guanidines to monovalent metal halides

A series of structurally characterised, monovalent metal-halide complexes incorporating neutral amidine and guanidine ligands is reported. N,N'-diphenylbenzamidine reacted with copper(I) chloride to afford the bis-ligand complex [CuCl(PhC[NPh][NHPh])2]2 (1), that exists as a chlorine bridged dimer in the solid state, with a non-symmetrical distribution of NH...Cl interactions within the 'Cu2Cl2' metallacycle. In contrast, only one equivalent of the guanidine, Me2NC[NiPr][NHiPr] (2), is coordinated in the copper(I) iodide complex [CuI(Me2NC[NiPr][NHiPr])]2 (3), which was also isolated as the dimer with bridging halide atoms. The molecular structure of the bicyclic guanidine, 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-alpha]pyrimidine (hppH), is reported, revealing a hydrogen bridged dimer with extensive delocalisation throughout the ligand framework. Coordination of hppH to lithium chloride afforded the dimeric bis-ligand complex [LiCl(hppH)2]2 (4) in which each hppH molecule interacts with a different chlorine atom of the central 'Li2Cl2' core of the molecule via NH...Cl hydrogen bonding. In contrast the 2:1 ligand to metal complex is formed with silver(I) chloride to afford AgCl(hppH)2 (5), a unique example of a monomeric, three-coordinate silver chloride supported by nitrogen-based ligands. The series of mixed ligand complexes [CuX(hppH)(PPh3)]n (6, X = Cl, n= 1; 7, X = Br, n= 2; 8 X = I, n= 2) have also been synthesised and structurally characterised, allowing comparisons of the relative coordinating behaviour of hppH and PPh3 as neutral donors at copper(I) centres to be made.     

Luminescent metal complexes of d6, d8 and d10 transition metal centres

This highlight focuses on various luminescent complexes with different transition metal centres of d(6), d(8) and d(10) electronic configurations. Through the systematic study on the variation of ligands, structural and bonding modes of different metal centres, the structure-property relationships of the various classes of luminescent transition metal complexes can be obtained. With the knowledge and fundamental understanding of their photophysical behaviours, their electronic absorption and luminescence properties can be fine-tuned. Introduction of supramolecular assembly with hierarchical complexity involving non-covalent interactions could lead to research dimensions of unlimited possibilities and opportunities. The approach of "function by design" could be employed to explore and exploit the potential applications of such luminescent transition metal complexes for future development of luminescent materials.     

Structural diversity of homobinuclear transition metal complexes of the phenazine ligand: theoretical investigation

DFT/BP86 calculations have been carried out on a series of hypothetical binuclear compounds of general formula (L₃M)₂(C₁₂N₂H₈) (M?=?Sc–Ni, L₃?=?(CO)₃, (PH₃)₃ and Cp^?, and C₁₂N₂H₈?=?phenazine ligand-denoted Phn). The various structures with syn and anti configurations have been investigated, in order to determine the phenazine’s coordination to first-row transition metals of various spin states with syn and anti conformations. The lowest energy structures depend on the nature of the metal, the spin state, and the molecular symmetry. This study has shown that the electronic communication between the metal centers depends on their oxidation state and the attached ligands. The tricarbonyl and the triphosphine ligands gave rise to comparable results in terms of stability order of isomers, metal-metal bond distances, and the coordination modes. Metal-metal multiple bonding has been evidenced for Sc, Ti, and V complexes to compensate the electronic deficiency. The Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni-rich metals prefer the anti conformation due to the enhancement of the metal valence electron count. The spin density values calculated for the triplet and quintet spin structures point out that the unpaired electrons are localized generally on the metal centers. The Wiberg bond indices are used to evaluate the metal-metal bonding. Furthermore, calculations using the BP86-D functional which take into account the attractive part of the van der Waals type interaction potential between atoms and molecules that are not directly connected to each other gave comparable results to those obtained by BP86 functional in terms of coordination modes, HOMO-LUMO gaps, metal-metal bond orders, and the stability order between isomers, but with slight deviation of M–C, M–N, and M–M bond distances not exceeding 3%.     

Bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl transition metal complexes: synthesis, asymmetric catalysis, and coordination chemistry

Molecular catalysts for organic synthesis should be constructed to be tailored to target reactions and their desirable conditions. In our search for them, we have studied new types of transition metal molecular catalysts dressed with a tridentate N,C,N modular ligand, which consists of a C2-symmetric side-by-side phenyl group with chiral bis(oxazolinyl) substituents. The ligand, 2,6-bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl abbreviated as Phebox, can connect covalently to transition metals by the central carbon atom. Here, we review our recent work on the chemistry of Phebox and its metal complexes, including preparation, structural analysis, asymmetric Lewis acid catalysis, asymmetric hydrosilylation, asymmetric conjugate reduction, asymmetric reductive aldol reaction, and organometallic reactions.     

Coordination chemistry of tetra- and tridentate ferrocenyl polyphosphines: an unprecedented [1,1'-heteroannular and 2,3-homoannular]-phosphorus-bonding framework in a metallocene dinuclear coordination complex

PalladiumII and nickelII halide complexes of the ferrocenyl polyphosphines 1,1',2,3-tetrakis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (1), and 1,1',2-tris(diphenylphosphino)-4-tert-butylferrocene (5) were prepared and characterized by multinuclear NMR. The metallo-ligand 1, the palladium [Pd2Cl4(1)] (3b) and nickel [NiCl2(5)] (6) coordination complexes were additionally characterized by X-ray diffraction crystallography. The behavior of 1 toward coordination to nickel and palladium was surprisingly different because the coordination of a second metal center after the initial 1,2-phosphorus-bonding of nickel was markedly difficult. The preference of nickel for 1,2-P coordination on 1,1'-bonding was confirmed by the exclusive formation of 6 from 5. The changes noted between the solid state structure of the ligand 1 and the structure obtained for the dinuclear palladium complex 3b reveal the rotational flexibility of this tetraphosphine. This flexibility is at the origin of the unique framework for a metallocenic dinuclear metal complex in which both coexist a 1,1'-heteroannular chelating P-bonding and a 2,3-homoannular chelating P-bonding with two palladium centers. Some reported specimens of ferrocenyl polyphosphines of constrained geometry have previously revealed that phosphorus lone pair overlap can lead to very intense "through-space" 31P31P nuclear spin-spin coupling constants (JPP) ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126 (35), 11077-11087] in solution phase. In these cases, an internuclear distance between heteroannular phosphorus atoms below 4.9 A, with an adequate orientation of the lone-pairs in the solid state and in solution, was a necessary parameter. The flexibility of the new polyphosphines 1 and 5 does not allow that spatial proximity (internuclear distances between heteroannular phosphorus above 5.2 A in the solid state); accordingly the expected through-space nuclear spin-spin coupling constants were not detected in any of their coordination complexes nor in 1.     

Structural diversity and solid-state properties of CoII and ZnII coordination complexes with 5-aminonicotinate through metal direction

Zinc and cobalt 5-aminonicotinate (5-AN^–) complexes, Co(5-AN)₂(H₂O)₄ (1) and {[Zn(5-AN)₂](H₂O)}_n (2), have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction results indicate that coordination geometries are different (octahedral for Co^II and tetrahedral for Zn^II) and 5-AN^? adopts distinct binding modes (terminal in 1 and bridging in 2), forming a simple mononuclear coordination motif for 1 and a 2-D (4,4) coordination layer for 2. The higher-dimensional supramolecular architectures for both complexes are constructed via hydrogen bonding. Both complexes have been characterized by IR, microanalysis, and powder X-ray diffraction techniques and, their thermal stability and fluorescence have also been investigated.     

Spectroscopic studies of bimetallic complexes derived from tridentate or tetradentate Schiff bases of some di- and tri-valent transition metals

Two series of new binuclear complexes with Schiff base ligands, H(4)L(a) or H(2)L(b), derived from the reaction of 4,6-diacetylresorcinol and ethylenediamine, in the molar ratio 1:1 and 1:2 have been prepared, respectively. The two ligands react with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Cr(III) and Fe(III)-nitrates to get binuclear complexes. The ligands were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-vis, (1)H NMR and mass spectra. The complexes were synthesized by direct and template methods. Different types of products were obtained for the same ligand and metal salts according to the method of preparation. The H(4)L(a) ligand behaves as a macrocyclic tetrabasic with two N(2)O(2) sits, while the H(2)L(b) ligand behaves as a dibasic with two N(2)O sites. The H(4)L(a) ligand is a compartmental ligand which hosts the two metal ions at the centers of two cis-N(2)O(2) sites, while the metal complexes of H(2)L(b) ligand are binuclear, where the ligand hosts two metal ions at the centers of two N(2)O sites. In both cases, deprotonation of the hydrogen atoms of the phenolic OH groups occur except in the case of the Ni(II), Fe(III) and Cr(III) complexes. Electronic spectra and magnetic moments of the complexes indicate that the geometries of the metal centers are either octahedral or tetrahedral. The structures are consistent with the IR, UV-vis, ESR, (1)H NMR, mass spectra, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA) as well as conductivity and magnetic moment measurements.     

Synthesis,characterization and thermal study of some tetradentate Schiff base transition metal complexes

Several mononuclear Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) complexes of tetradentate salpren-type diimine, obtained from 3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 1,3-diaminopropane have been prepared and characterized by analytical, spectroscopic (FT-IR, UV–VIS) techniques, magnetic susceptibility measurements and thermogravimetric analyses (TG). The thermodynamic and thermal properties of complexes have been investigated. For further characterization Direct Insertion Probe-Mass Spectrometry (DIP-MS) was used and the fragmentation pattern and also stability of the ions were evaluated. The characterization of the end products of the decomposition was achieved by X-ray diffraction. The thermal stabilities of metal complexes of N,N′-bis(3,5-di-t-butylsalicylidene)-1,3-propanediamine ligand (L) were found as Ni(II) > Cu(II) > Co(II) > Fe(II).     

Redox and antimicrobial studies of transition metal(II) tetradentate Schiff base complexes

Neutral tetradentate chelate complexes of Cu^II, Ni^II, Co^II, Mn^II, Zn^II and VO^II have been prepared in EtOH using Schiff bases derived from acetoacetanilido-4-aminoantipyrine and 2-aminophenol/2-aminothiophenol. Microanalytical data, magnetic susceptibility, i.r., u.v.–vis., ¹H-n.m.r. and e.s.r. spectral techniques were used to confirm the structures of the chelates. Electronic absorption and i.r. spectra of the complexes suggest a square-planar geometry around the central metal ion, except for VO^II and Mn^II complexes which have square-pyramidal and octahedral geometry respectively. The cyclic voltammetric data for the Cu^II complexes in MeCN show two waves for copper(II) copper(III) and copper(II) copper(I) couples, whereas the VO^II complexes in MeCN show two waves for vanadium(IV) vanadium(V) and vanadium(IV) vanadium(III) couples. The e.s.r. spectra of the Cu^II, VO^II and Mn^II complexes were recorded in DMSO solution and their salient features reported. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the investigated compounds was tested against the microorganisms such as Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Shigella flexneri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger and Rhizoctonia bataicola. Most of the metal chelates have higher antimicrobial activity than the free ligands.     

Constitutional,configurational and conformational analysis of transition metal coordination complexes

Summary A computational approach to conformational analysis is applied to the study of transition metal coordination complexes. The method provides a means of rapidly exploring conformational space without any inherent reliance on energy calculations and is therefore applicable to a wide variety of systems. It has been incorporated into an algorithm which explores the constitutional, configurational and conformational degrees of freedom for a metal ion and a number of potential ligands. The program determines which of the possible coordination complex products could form stable conformations and can therefore be used to rationalise the products obtained from the mixture. The method is illustrated using two cases: the cobalt(III)-triethylenetetramine-glycine system and complexes of diindolopyridine derivatives.Abbreviations en ethylenediamine - trien triethylenetetramine - gly glycine - RMS root mean square - 3D three dimensional     

Physical,chemical and biological studies on transition metal complexes of chelating tridentate ligand

Summary The interaction of 1-benzoin-4-phenylthiosemicarbazone (H₂ BPS) with some transition metal ions has been investigated. The ligand can function as a tridentate chelating agent, giving M(HBPS)₂ and M(BPS). Potentiometric studies proved that the mechanism of chelation is based on hydrogen ion liberation. Spectral studies in solution show that the ligand could be used for the microdetermination of Cu^IIions. On the basis of magnetic and spectral data, an octahedral structure is proposed for the Co^II and Ni^II complexes and a square-planar structure for the Cu^II complex. The corrosion inhibition of aluminium in Cl₃CCO₂H using H₂BPS is studied. The electrical conductivity of H₂BPS and of its complexes have been measured. The ligand shows an activation energy in the range of semiconducting materials. The antimicrobial activity of all compounds has also been demonstrated.