Thermal Studies of Cobalt(II), Nickel(II) and Copper(II) Complexes of 4-(Sulfonylazido Phenylazo) Pyrazolones

The thermal decompositions of cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of4-(3'-sulfonylazido-6'-methoxyphenylazo)-1-phenyl-3-methyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one H(D¹–SO₂N₃) and 4-(4'-sulfonylazido phenylazo)-3-phenyl-3-methyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one H(D²–SO₂N₃) were studied by thermogravimetry. The decomposition in all cases takes place along two stages. The first stage is due to the elimination of water and nitrogen molecules with the formation of tetracoordinate complexes containing nitrene reactive species[M(DSO₂N:)₂]. The second stage represents the decomposition of the material to the metal oxide. The kinetics of the decomposition were examined by using Coats–Redfern, the decomposition in all complexes was found to be first order for the first and second stages. The activation energies and other activation parameters (H^* and S^* and G^*) were computed and related to the bonding and stereochemistry of the complexes.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.