Neutral-ligand complexes of bis(imino)pyridine iron: synthesis, structure, and spectroscopy

A family of bis(imino)pyridine iron neutral-ligand derivatives, ((iPr)PDI)FeL(n) ((iPr)PDI = 2,6-(2,6-iPr2-C6H3N=CMe)2C6H3N), has been synthesized from the corresponding bis(dinitrogen) complex, ((iPr)PDI)Fe(N2)2. When L is a strong-field ligand such as tBuNC or a chelating alkyl diphosphine such as DEPE (DEPE = 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane), a five-coordinate, diamagnetic compound results with no spectroscopic evidence for mixing of paramagnetic states. Reducing the field strength of the neutral donor to principally sigma-type ligands such as tBuNH2 or THT (THT = tetrahydrothiophene) also yielded diamagnetic compounds. However, the 1H NMR chemical shifts of the in-plane bis(imino)pyridine hydrogens exhibit a large chemical shift dispersion indicative of temperature-independent paramagnetism (TIP) arising from mixing of an S = 1 excited state via spin-orbit coupling. Metrical data from X-ray diffraction establish bis(imino)pyridine chelate reduction for each structural type, while M?ssbauer parameters and NMR spectroscopic data differentiate the spin states of the iron and identify contributions from paramagnetic excited states.