The influence of pentaamminerhodium(III) on the1H n.m.r. spectra and pyrrole pKas of coordinated imidazoles and pyrazoles

Summary The following [(NH₃)₅RhLH]Cl₃ salts were preparedvia the [(NH₃)₅Rh(O₃SCF₃)](O₃SCF₃)₂ synthetic route; LH=1-methylimidazole (1CH₃imH), 2-methylimidazole (2CH₃imH), 4-methylimidazole (4CH₃imH), 5-methylimidazole(5CH₃imH), and pyrazole (pyzH). pK_a's at 25.0°C were determined for [(NH₃)₅RhLH]³⁺ complexes as follows: 2CH₃imH, 10.4±0.1; 5CH₃imH/4CH₃imH isomer mixture, 10.3±0.1; pyzH, 6.54±0.05. The influence on the pK_a's of imidazoles is dominated by withdrawal of the rhodium(III) centre and may be compensated by the presence of ring methylation by only 0.5log units for cobalt(III) and rhodium(III) derivatives, compared to 1.3 units for the -withdrawing ruthenium(III) centre. In the case of the -acceptor pyrazole ring, [(NH₃)₅Rh]³⁺ is observed to serve as a slight -donor and raises the pK_a above the cobalt(III) analogue. The¹H n.m.r. spectra of [(NH₃)₅RhLH]³⁺ complexes of the substituted imidazoles and pyrazole exhibit a deshielding order. C–2H>C–5H>C–4H for imidazoles and C–3H>C–5H>C–4H for pyrazole, as do their cobalt(III) analogues. The magnitude of values (=_{free L}-_complex) are virtually the same as in the cobalt(III) systems which shows that TIP influences are unimportant compared to ring rehybridization in estabilishing chemical shifts for both the cobalt(III) and rhodium(III) complexes. The imidazolato and pyrazolato complexes exhibit resonances upfield of the respective substituted imidazole or pyrazole complex in keeping with more negative charge on the rings; the influence is largest at C–2H of imidazolates and C–3H of pyrazolate.