Electronic structures of mixed-sandwich complexes of cyclopentadienyl and Hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands with 3d transition metals

The electronic and magnetic properties of a series of mixed-sandwich complexes MCp(R)Tp (Cp(R) = Cp or Cp; Tp = hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate; M = V, Cr, Fe, Co or Ni) have been studied and compared to their homoleptic analogues, MCp(R)(2) and MTp(2). Solid-state magnetic susceptibility measurements and EPR spectroscopic data indicate that complexes with d(3), d(6), and d(8) configurations are similar electronically to their metallocene analogues, except for FeCpTp, which displays a spin equilibrium (S = 0 if S = 2) in solution which was investigated by variable- temperature NMR spectroscopy. The d(2) complex VCpTp](+) displays magnetic behavior consistent with an orbitally nondegenerate ground state. The d(4) species CrCpTp has a high-spin (S = 2) ground state. The d(7) species CoCpTp is high spin (S = 3/2) whereas its Cp analogue and NiCpTp](+) are both low-spin (S = 1/2) species. The optical spectra of the d(3), d(6), and d(8) complexes were assigned in a fashion similar to the analogous metallocenes and ligand-field parameters (delta(1) = delta-sigma gap, delta(2) = sigma-pi gap for d-orbitals in axial symmetry) calculated. The analysis shows that for 15-electron species the total ligand-field splitting, delta(TOT), is larger than for their metallocene analogues, whereas for the 18-electron case Delta(TOT) is smaller and for 20-electron systems delta(TOT) is approximately the same. In all cases delta(2) is substantially reduced compared to the metallocenes, and in the majority of cases delta(1) is markedly larger. DFT calculations were performed to investigate further the nature of the ligand environment on the frontier orbitals in these complexes. Orbital energies and compositions were calculated and compared for a series of homoleptic and mixed-sandwich complexes of Ni(II) and across the 1st transition series for MCp(R)Tp species. The ability of Tp (vs Cp) to act as a delta-donor (with respect to the principal molecular axis) imparts significant ligand antibonding character to the delta-orbitals and results in decreased epsilon(pi)-epsilon(delta) values compared to the metallocenes and an increased tendency toward high-spin complexes in the mixed-sandwich complexes. Structure calculations were performed for CrCpTp, VCpTp](+), and CoCpTp which show substantial distortions from ideal axial symmetry in their crystal structures. The origins of these distortions were confirmed to arise from unequal occupancy of near-degenerate delta- and pi-levels.