Molecular structure of meso-tetraphenylporphyrinatothallium(III) cyanide: Tl(tpp) (CN)

meso-Tetraphenylporphyrinatothallium(III) cyanide, Tl(tpp)(CN), was previously assumed to be monomeric and has been confirmed by X-ray analysis to exist as two independent molecules in one asymmetric unit. This unit displays two square-pyramidal coordination geometries for the thallium atoms with the cyano ligand coordinated to both Tl atoms. It crystallizes in the triclinic space group P, with a 10.003(3), b 16.231(7), c 21.277(8) Å, 89.98(3), β 90.57(3), γ 90.31(3)°' and z = 4. The structure was solved by direct methods. A total of 7995 unique reflections having I > 3σ(I) was measured with an automated diffractometer and used to refine the crystal structure to a conventional R factor of 6.05 %. The thallium-cyanide distances are 2.140(14) Å (for thallium(I)) and 2.277(14) Å (for thallium(2)) respectively, with thallium(1) situated 0.908 Å above the porphyrin ring and thallium(2) located 1.027 Å below the ring. IR and NMR spectroscopy p rovide complementary methods for investigation of the CN ligand. The characteristic band observed at 2160 cm⁻¹ in the FTIR spectrum is assigned to the CN stretching in the Tl(tpp)(CN) complex. The ¹³C resonance of axial cyano ligand is observed with a pulse delay of 3.5 s at 24°C at 139.2 ppm (with ¹J(²⁰⁵Tl-¹³C) 5394 and ¹J(²⁰³Tl-¹³C) 5344 Hz). This observation disagrees with the conclusion, drawn from previous work, in that an exchange process involving the apical ligand explains the invisibility due to line broadening at 35°C of the ¹³C signal.