Selectivity of attack on a Si-C(sp) sigma bond coordinated to Ni

(PNP)Ni⁺ (as its ( salt) adds PhCN to Ni, but HX cleaves the Si-CH₂ bond to form Ni[η²⁻(^tBu₂PCH₂SiMe₂)N(H)(SiMe₂X)][η²-CH₂^tBu₂P]⁺, for X = OMe, piperidyl, N(H)CH₂Ph, N(H)Ph, morpholinyl. The diprotic reagent H₂O gives (η²-^tBu₂PCH₂SiMe₂OSiMe₂NH₂)(η²-^tBu₂CH₂P)Ni⁺. RCCH (R = Ph, SiMe₃, ^tBu) reacts, through three detected intermediates, to form (^tBu₂PCH₂SiMe₂)N(H)(SiMe₂CH₂^tBu₂PCCR)Ni⁺, a product where one P has been oxidized and Ni reduced, each by two electrons. This shows the dominant influence on reactivity of Si-C bond activation by its unconventional donation to nickel in the structure of (PNP)Ni⁺.     

Unexpected selectivity in electrophilic attack on (PNP)RuN

Protonation of (PNP)RuN, where PNP is (^tBu₂PCH₂SiMe₂)₂N, with HCl occurs at the amide nitrogen, with coordination of chloride to Ru^IV, while triflic acid protonates the same nitrogen, but has triflate anion hydrogen-bonded to the proton on the PNP amide nitrogen, not triflate coordinated to the metal. Methyl triflate however alkylates the nitride nitrogen, to give a C_2v symmetric product. DFT calculations show that the thermodyamic preference is for proton on amide nitrogen while alkyl favors nitride alkylation, even without the need for a hydrogen bond to reverse the H vs. alkyl preference. Alkylation at the amide nitrogen leads to nearly complete loss of the PN(R)P Ru/N bond in this unobserved isomer. These preferences among nucleophilic sites on (PNP)RuN are rationalized based on the frontier orbitals of this molecule.     

Syntheses, structures and antimicrobial activities of various metal complexes of hinokitiol

Metal-oxygen bonding complexes (M = Mg^II, Mn^II, Ni^II, Mo^VI, W^VI, Pd^II, Sb^III, Bi^III, Fe^III, Ti^IV, K^I, Ba^II, Zr^IV and Hf^IV) with a hinokitiol (Hhino; 2-hydroxy-4-isopropylcyclohepta-2,4,6-trienone or β-thujaplicin) ligand, which has two unequivalent oxygen donor atoms, were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, TG/DTA, FT-IR and solution (¹H and ¹³C) NMR spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis revealed various molecular structures for the complexes, which were classified into several families of family, i.e. type A [M^II(hino)₂(L)]₂ (M = Mg^II, Mn^II, Ni^II; L = EtOH or MeOH), with a dimeric structure consisting of one bridging hino⁻ anion, one chelating hino⁻ anion and one alcohol or water molecule, type B, with the octahedral, cis-dioxo, bis-chelate complexes cis-[M^VIO₂(hino)₂] (M = Mo^VI, W^VI), type C, with square planar complex [M^II(hino)₂] (M = Pd^II), type D, with tris-chelate, 7-coordinate complexes with one inert electron pair [M^III(hino)₃] (M = Sb^III, Bi^III), type D′, with the bis-chelate, pseudo-6-coordinate complexes with one inert electron pair [M^III(hino)₂X] (M = Sb^III, X = Br), type E, with tris-chelate, 6-coordinate complexes with Δ and Λ isomers [M^III(hino)₃] (M = Fe^III), type E′ of bis-chelate, 6-coordinate complex [M^IV(hino)₂X₂] (M = Ti^IV, X = Cl), type F, with water-soluble alkali metal salts [M^I(hino)] (M = K^I), and type H, with tetrakis-chelate, 8-coordinate complexes [M^IV(hino)₄](M = Zr^IV, Hf^IV). These structural features were compared with those of metal complexes with a related ligand, tropolone (Htrop). The antimicrobial activities of these complexes, evaluated in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC; μg mL⁻¹) in two systems, were compared to elucidate the relationship between structure and antimicrobial activity.     

Ligand-to-ligand electron transfer and temperature induced valence tautomerism in o-dioxolene chelated manganese complexes

Three polymeric o-dioxolene chelated manganese(III) complexes, {[Mn^III(H₂L¹)(Cl₄Cat)₂][Mn^III(Cl₄Cat)₂(H₂O)₂]}_∞ (1) (L¹ = N,N′-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4-butanediamine, Cl₄Cat = tetrachlorocatecholate dianion], {[Mn^III(H₂L¹)(Br₄Cat)₂][Mn^III(Br₄Cat)₂(H₂O)₂]·4DMF}_∞, (2) and {[Mn^III(H₂L²)(Br₄Cat)₂][Mn^III(Br₄Cat)₂(DMF)₂]}_∞ (3) (L² = N,N′-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,6-hexanediamine, Br₄Cat = tetrabromocatecholate dianion) have been synthesized and structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. All the complexes were fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and their electronic properties are described. It was found that the simple protonation or deprotonation of the bridging ligand (L¹ or L²) coordinated to metal-dioxolene chromophore induce a change in the oxidation state of the coordinated dioxolene ligand without affecting the metal oxidation state. As a result, drastic change in the optical absorption properties of the complexes is observed in the visible and near-IR region as the transformation involves semiquinone-catecholate ligands. Moreover, all three complexes undergo thermally induced valence tautomerism in solution. For all the complexes, on increasing the temperature, the intensity of the lower energy Inter Valence Charge Transfer (IVCT) band at about 1930 nm increases with corresponding decrease of 600 nm band with an isosbestic point at 1820 nm due to the formation of mixed valence species Mn^II(X₄SQ)(X₄Cat)⁻ from (X = Cl or Br) by the transfer of one electron from Cat²⁻ to Mn^III center.     

Palladium complexes with PCP ligands.: Preparation and structural studies of two forms of [(PCP)Pd(OH2)]BF4

Abstraction of chloride from the Pd complex {[η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]PdCl with AgBF₄ in THF gives {[η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]Pd(THF)}⁺BF₄ ⁻. Attemped crystallization of this THF complex produced the aqua complex {[η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]Pd(OH₂)}⁺BF₄ ⁻. Crystal structures of two crystalline forms of this compound are reported. In {[η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]Pd(OH₂)}⁺BF₄ ⁻·THF, one hydrogen of the water is hydrogen bonded to the oxygen of the THF, and the other hydrogen is hydrogen bonded to an F of the BF₄ ⁻ anion. Another crystalline form has no THF, but has both of the hydrogens of water hydrogen bonded to different BF₄ ⁻ anions, such that two different BF₄ ⁻ anions bridge two {[η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]Pd(OH₂)}⁺ cations. A crystal structure is also reported for the palladium chloride complex [η³-2,6-(^tBu₂PCH₂)₂C₆H₃)]PdCl.     

Synthesis and X-ray structural characterization of tris(l-glycinato)vanadium(III) and trans-tetraquadichlorovanadium(III) chloride

Despite the importance of V^III in biology, only three V^III complexes of naturally occurring amino acids have been structurally characterized. We report the structure of the first vanadium complex incorporating a glycine ligand, [V(Gly)₃] · 2DMSO, which crystallizes in a monoclinic system with space group Cc, a = 8.9186(5) Å, b = 21.5347(9) Å, c = 9.9064(5) Å and β = 110.536(3)°. The X-ray structural data show the central V^III metal octahedrally coordinated by three bidentate glycinato ligands arranged a mer configuration, with both Δ and Λ enantiomers present in the unit cell. The bulk sample was isolated as [V(Gly)₃] · DMSO · NaCl. Structural comparisons are made with the corresponding homoleptic glycinato complexes of Co^III, Cr^III and Ni^II. The structure of trans-[V(OH₂)₄Cl₂]Cl · 2H₂O has also been re-determined. This latter complex crystallizes in a monoclinic system in the P2(1)/c space group, a = 6.4381(9) Å, b = 6.3843(9) Å, c = 11.7980(17) Å and β = 98.057(2)°. The vanadium atom lies at a crystallographic inversion centre within the distorted octahedron formed by the four water and two chloride ligands.     

Ruthenium(VI) and osmium(VI) nitrido complexes with halogenated phenoxide and thiophenoxide ligands

Treatment of [Buⁿ₄N][Ru(N)Cl₄] with Na(OR) afforded [Buⁿ₄N][Ru(N)(OR)₄] (R = C₆F₅ (1), C₆F₄H (2), C₆Br₅ (3)), whereas that with [Buⁿ₄N][Os(N)Cl₄] gave [Buⁿ₄N][Os(N)(OR)₃Cl] (R = C₆F₅ (4), C₆F₄H (5), C₆Br₅ (6)). Treatment of [Buⁿ₄N][M(N)Cl₄] with Na(SC₆F₄H) and Na(Sxyl) (xyl = 2,6-dimethylphenyl) afforded [Buⁿ₄N][M(N)(SC₆F₄H)₄] (M = Ru (7), Os (8)) and [Buⁿ₄N][M(N)(Sxyl)₄] (M = Ru (9), Os (10)), respectively. The crystal structures of compounds 1, 6 and 9 have been determined.     

New phospholyl complexes of groups 4 and 6: Syntheses, characterisation and polymerisation studies

[M(P₃C₂^tBu₂)(CO)₃I] (M = Mo, 1, W, 2) have been synthesised and reacted with PCl₅ for oxidation study purposes. Compounds Ti(P₃C₂^tBu₂)(Ind)Cl₂], 3, and [Zr(P₃C₂^tBu₂)(Cp)Cl₂], 4, were detected spectroscopically, but showed to be too unstable to be isolated. A Ti(IV) complex, [Ti(P₃C₂^tBu₂)Cl₃], 5, has been formed from the reaction of [TiCl₄] with the base-free ligand K(P₃C₂^tBu₂), while the Ti(III) species, [Ti(P₃C₂^tBu₂) Cl₂(THF)], 6, was prepared from [TiCl₃(THF)₃]. Compounds 5 and 6 were studied as ethylene catalyst precursors after activation with MAO. In the studied conditions, complex 5 is the most active one with an activity of 2.2 × 10⁵ g(molTi [E] h)⁻¹, one order of magnitude higher than compound 6. The produced polymer is linear polyethylene.     

A seven-coordinate iron platform and its oxo and nitrene reactivity

We present a new structurally determined seven-coordinate iron platform supported by the tris(2-picolyl)amine ligand 6,6′-(pyridin-2-ylmethylazanediyl)bis(methylene)bis(N-tert-butylpicolinamide) (TPA^2C(O)NHtBu, 3) and its reactivity with oxo and nitrene transfer agents. Oxidation of the pentagonal bipyramidal, seven-coordinate iron(II)-triflate complex [TPA^2C(O)NHtBuFe^II(OTf)][OTf] (4) with PhIO produces the corresponding diiron(III) μ-oxo complex [(TPA^2C(O)NHtBuFe^III)₂(O)][OTf]₄ (5). Mössbauer and magnetic measurements on 5 in the solid-state establish antiferromagnetic coupling between its two Fe(III) centers. Reactions of 4 with the nitrene transfer agents PhINTs (Ts = p-MeC₆H₄SO₂) and PhINNs (Ns = p-NO₂C₆H₄SO₂) provide the corresponding iron(III)-amide congeners [TPA^2C(O)NHtBuFe^III(NHTs)][OTf]₂ (6) and [TPA^2C(O)NHtBuFe^III(NHNs)][OTf]₂ (7), respectively, affording a rare pair of isolable Fe(III)-amide compounds formed from nitrene transfer. By characterizing well-defined products in the crystalline form, derived from atom and group transfer to seven-coordinate iron, the collective data provide a starting point for the exploration of high-valent and metal-ligand multiply bonded species supported by approximate pentagonal-type ligand fields.     

Highly flexible O,O′,N ligands and their Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn complexes

Three new chiral ligands bearing an O,O′,N donor set (O_methoxyO_hydroxyN_pyridine) were synthesised and coordinated to Fe^III, Fe^II, Ni^II, Cu^II and Zn^II to yield complexes with the general formula [M(OON)Cl_x]_y. While the pyridine N and the hydroxy O atoms coordinate strongly to all applied metal ions, the methoxy donor seems not to be involved in coordination, although some evidence for a weak interaction between O_Me and the Zn^II were found in NMR spectra. In the bidentate O′,N coordination mode the new ligands exhibit several coordination geometries as analysed in the solid compounds by XRD, EXAFS and EPR and in solution by UV-Vis absorption, cyclic voltammetry, EXAFS, EPR or NMR spectroscopy.     

Diphosphinoazine rhodium(III) and iridium(III) octahedral complexes

Rhodium(III) and iridium(III) octahedral complexes of general formula [MCl₃{R₂PCH₂C(Bu^t)NNC(Bu^t)CH₂PR₂}] (M = Rh, Ir; R = Ph, c-C₆H₁₁, Prⁱ, Bu^t; not all the combinations) were prepared either from the corresponding diphosphinoazines and RhCl₃ · 3H₂O or by the oxidation of previously reported bridging complexes [{MCl(1,2-η:5,6-η-CHCHCH₂CH₂CHCHCH₂CH₂)}₂{μ-R₂PCH₂C(Bu^t)NNC(Bu^t)CH₂PR₂}] with chlorine-containing solvents. Depending on the steric properties of the ligands, complexes with facial or meridional configuration were obtained. Crystal and molecular structures of three facial and two meridional complexes were determined by X-ray diffraction. Hemilability of ligand in the complex fac-[RhCl₃{(C₆H₁₁)₂PCH₂C(Bu^t)NNC(Bu^t)CH₂P(C₆H₁₁)₂}] consisting in reversible decoordination of the phosphine donor group in the six-membered ring was observed as the first step of isomerization between fac and mer isomers.     

Nature of the Ln-Co magnetic interactions in compounds [Ln2Co3(C5H4NPO3)6] · 4H2O with open-framework structures

The reactions of Ln(NO₃)₃ · xH₂O, CoSO₄ · 7H₂O or ZnSO₄ · 6H₂O and 2-pyridylphosphonic acid under hydrothermal conditions result in heterometallic phosphonate compounds with formula [Ln₂M₃(C₅H₄NPO₃)₆] · 4H₂O (Ln₂M₃; M = Co^II or Zn^II; Ln = La^III, Ce^III, Pr^III, Nd^III, Sm^III, Eu^III, Gd^III, Tb^III, Dy^III). These compounds are isostructural and crystallize in a chiral cubic space group I2₁3. Each structure contains the {LnO₉} polyhedra and {MN₂O₄} octahedra which are connected by edge-sharing to form an inorganic open-framework structure with a 3-connected 10-gon (10, 3) topology. The nature of Ln^III-Co^II magnetic interactions in Ln₂Co₃ is investigated by a comparison with their Ln^III-Zn^II analogues. It is found that the Ln^III-Co^II interaction is weak antiferromagnetic for Ln = Ce and ferromagnetic for Ln = Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy. In the cases of Ln = Pr, Nd and Eu, no significant magnetic interaction is observed.     

Heterodimetallic Pd-based carboxylate-bridged complexes: Synthesis and structure of single-crystalline Pd-M (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Nd, Eu, Ce) acetates

A series of crystalline Pd^II-based heterodimetallic acetate-bridged complexes containing the transition (Mn^II, Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II), post-transition (Zn^II) and rare-earth (Ce^IV, Nd^III, Eu^III) metals were synthesized starting from Pd₃(OOCMe)₆ and the complementary metal(II, III) acetates. The crystal and molecular structures of the binuclear Pd^IIM^II(μ-OOCMe)₄L (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Zn; L = H₂O, MeCN), trinuclear and tetranuclear (M = Nd, Eu) and complexes were established by X-ray diffraction.     

Heterobimetallic M/Zn (M = Cu, Ni) complexes with open-chain N- and N,O-ligands: Template synthesis from metal powders and supramolecular crystal structures

A series of new heterometallic Cu^IIZn^II and Ni^IIZn^II complexes with N- and N,O open-chain multidentate ligands (L¹ = 4,6,6-trimethyl-1,9-diamino-3,7-diazanon-3-ene; L² = 3,7-bis(2-aminoethyl)-1,3,5,7-tetraazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane; L³ = 1,15-dihydroxy-7,9,9-trimethyl-3,6,10,13-tetraazapentadec-6-ene and L⁴ = 1-hydroxy-9-oxy-4,6,6-trimethyl-3,7-diazanon-3-ene) have been prepared through the “direct template synthesis” approach, which is a combination of classical template reactions of amines with acetone/formaldehyde and the “direct synthesis” method based on using elemental metals as starting materials. There is a significant decrease in the reaction time when the “direct synthesis” method is used compared to the conventional template condensation methods. X-ray crystallographic analyses of the complexes with the general formula M(L)ZnX₄ and [CuL⁴ZnCl₃]₂ (M = Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺; L = L¹-L³; X = Cl⁻, NCS⁻) reveal the presence of long intermolecular distance interactions, such as semi-coordination, S?S and H-bonding, in their crystal organization.     

Synthesis and structure of iron (III) and iron (II) complexes in S4P2 environment created by diethyldithiocarbamate and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane chelation: Investigation of the electronic structure of the complexes by Mössbauer and magnetic studies

Iron (II) and iron (III) complexes, [Fe^II(DEDTC)₂(dppe)] · CH₂Cl₂ (1), [Fe^II(ETXANT)₂(dppe)] (2) (DEDTC = diethyldithiocarbamate, ETXANT = ethyl xanthate, dppe = 1,2-bis (diphenylphosphino) ethane), and [Fe^III(DEDTC)₂(dppe)] [Fe^IIICl₄] (3) have been synthesized and characterized. Since 3 contains two magnetic centers, an anion metathesis reaction has been conducted to replace the tetrahedral FeCl₄⁻ by a non-magnetic BPh₄⁻ ion producing [Fe^III(DEDTC)₂(dppe)]BPh₄ (4) for the sake of unequivocal understanding of the magnetic behavior of the cation of 3. With the similar end in view, the well-known FeCl₄⁻ ion, the counter anion of 3, is trapped as PPh₄[Fe^IIICl₄] (5) and its magnetic property from 298 to 2 K has been studied. Besides the spectroscopic (IR, UV-Vis, NMR, EPR, Mass and XPS) characterization of the appropriate compounds, especially 2, others viz. 1, 3 and 4 have been structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. While Fe^II complexes, 1 and 2, are diamagnetic, the Fe^III systems, namely the cations of 3, and 4 behave as low-spin (S = 1/2) paramagnetic species from 298 to 50 K. Below 50 K 3 shows gradual increase of χ_MT up to 2 K suggesting ferromagnetic behavior while 4 exhibits gradual decrease of magnetic moment from 60 to 2 K, indicating the occurrence of weak antiferromagnetic interaction. These conclusions are supported by the Mössbauer studies of 3 and 4. The Mössbauer pattern of 1 exhibits a doublet site for diamagnetic (2-400 K) Fe^II. The compounds 1, 2 and 4 encompass interesting cyclic voltammetric responses involving Fe^II, Fe^III and Fe^IV.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of tetrameric silver(I) 3,5-di-tert-butyl-pyrazolate

A tetrameric [Ag(μ-3,5-^tBu₂pz)]₄ · CH₂Cl₂ (1 · CH₂Cl₂) has been prepared and structurally characterized. The four Ag-atoms are in an approximate rhombic arrangement with pyrazolato bridges alternating on either side of the Ag₄-plane. A ¹H NMR study shows partial decomposition of 1 to the mononuclear [Ag(3,5-^tBu₂pzH)₂]⁺ in solution.     

Vibrational and structural mapping of [Os(bpy)3] and [Os(phen)3]

Structural changes between [Os^IIL₃]²⁺ and [Os^IIIL₃]³⁺ (L: 2,2′-bipyridine; 1,10-phenanthroline) and molecular and electronic structures of the Os^III complexes [Os^III(bpy)₃]³⁺ and [Os^III(phen)₃]³⁺ are discussed in this paper. Mid-infrared spectra in the ν(bpy) and ν(phen) ring stretching region for [Os^II(bpy)₃](PF₆)₂, [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃, [Os^II(phen)₃](PF₆)₂, and [Os^III(phen)₃](PF₆)₃ are compared, as are X-ray crystal structures. Absorption spectra in the UV region for [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃ and [Os^III(phen)₃](PF₆)₃ are dominated by very intense absorptions (ε = 40 000-50 000 M⁻¹ cm⁻¹) due to bpy and phen intra-ligand π → π^∗ transitions. In the visible region, relatively narrow bands with vibronic progressions of ∼1500 cm⁻¹ appear, and have been assigned to bpy or phen-based, spin-orbit coupling enhanced, ¹π → ³π^∗ electronic transitions. Also present in the visible region are ligand-to-metal charge transfer bands (LMCT) arising from π(bpy) → t_2g(Os^III) or π(phen) → t_2g(Os^III) transitions. In the near infrared, two broad absorption features appear for oxidized forms [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃ and [Os^III(phen)₃](PF₆)₃ arising from dπ-dπ interconfigurational bands characteristic of dπ⁵Os^III. They are observed at 4580 and 5090 cm⁻¹ for [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃ and at 4400 and 4990 cm⁻¹ for [Os^III(phen)₃](PF₆)₃. The bpy and phen infrared vibrational bands shift to higher energy upon oxidation of Os(II) to Os(III). In the cation structure in [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃, the Os^III atom resides at a distorted octahedral site, as judged by ∠N-Os-N, which varies from 78.78(22)° to 96.61(22)°. Os-N bond lengths are also in general longer for [Os^III(bpy)₃](PF₆)₃ compared to [Os^II(bpy)₃](PF₆)₂ (0.010 Å), and for [Os^III(phen)₃](PF₆)₃ compared to [Os^II(phen)₃](PF₆)₂ (0.014 Å). Structural changes in the ligands between oxidation states are discussed as originating from a combination of dπ(Os^II) → π^∗ (bpy or phen) backbonding and charge redistribution on the ligands as calculated by natural population analysis.     

Hyponitrite complexes: Crystal and molecular structure of [Ru2(CO)4(μ-PBu2)(μ-Ph2PCH2PPh2)(μ-η-ONNOMe)]

The new trans-hyponitrite derivative complex [Ru₂(CO)₄(μ-P^tBu₂)(μ-dppm)(μ-η²-ONNOMe)] (2, dppm = Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂) was prepared by deprotonation of [Ru₂(CO)₄(μ-H)(μ-P^tBu₂)(μ-dppm)(μ-η²-ONNOMe)][BF₄] (1) with the base DBU (1.8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene). The latter complex salt has been obtained in an improved synthesis starting from the trans-hyponitrite complex [Ru₂(CO)₄(μ-H)(μ-P^tBu₂)(μ-dppm)(μ-η²-ONNO)]. Compound 2 has been characterized by spectroscopic methods as well as by X-ray diffraction and represents the first neutral complex bearing a deprotonated monoester of the hyponitrous acid as the bridging ligand.     

Nickel(II) and iron(II) mononuclear complexes with 1-methylimidazole-2-aldoximate: New building units for molecule-assembled magnetic materials

A new class of mononuclear metal complexes with 1-methylimidazole-2-aldoximate (miao) has been synthesized and characterized: trans-Ni^II(Cl)₂(Hmiao)₂ (1), trans-Ni^II(miao)₂(py)₂ (2), NO-trans-Ni^II(miao)₂(phen) (3), and NO-trans-Fe^II(miao)₂(phen) (4). The crystal structures of 2, 3, and 4 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Compound 1 having the protonated miao ligand (i.e., Hmiao) is a precursor for synthesizing 2 and 3. Compound 2 is an octahedral Ni^II complex surrounded by two miao bidentate ligands and two monodentate ligands of pyridine in a trans-arrangement. Compound 3 is a cis-type octahedral Ni^II complex with two miao ligands and a bidentate ligand of 1,10-phenanthroline, in which the ligand arrangement around Ni^II center is found in an NO-trans form. Compound 4 is an isostructural Fe^II derivative of 3. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 exhibit paramagnetic nature with an S = 1 spin and a positive zero-field splitting, among which it for 3 is overlapped with intermolecular ferromagnetic interaction (zJ/k_B = +0.16 K). Compound 4 is diamagnetic due to the existence of low-spin Fe^II ion.     

Electrochemical formation of bi- versus tetranuclear μ-oxo terpyridine manganese complexes in CH3CN. Influence of the terpyridine substituents

To complete the elucidation of the electrochemical properties of Mn^II-bis(terpyridine) complexes in CH₃CN and evaluate the influence of the bulkiness of the terpy substituents, the oxidation processes of [Mn^II(L)₂]²⁺ (L = terpy for 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine, pTol-terpy for 4′-(4-methylphenyl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine and tBu₃-terpy for 4,4′,4″-tri-tert-butyl-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine) have been investigated in aqueous (1 M) CH₃CN solution. In this medium, exhaustive oxidations at 1.10-1.20 V versus Ag/Ag⁺ release two electrons per molecule of initial complex and lead to clean dimerization processes with the quantitative formation of the oxo-bridged binuclear [Mn₂^IVO₂(L)₂(H₂O)₂]⁴⁺ complex for L = tBu₃-terpy and of the tetranuclear [Mn₄^IVO₅(L)₄(H₂O)₂]⁶⁺ complexes for L = terpy and pTol-terpy. The formation of the tetranuclear complex with the tBu₃-terpy derivative is prevented by the steric hindrance induced by the bulkiness of the tert-butyl groups, as confirmed by molecular mechanics calculations, as well as by their strong electron-donating properties. All these electrogenerated multinuclear complexes have been fully characterized in solution by UV-vis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. A markedly improved chemical synthesis of [Mn₄^IVO₅(terpy)₄(H₂O)₂]⁶⁺ is also reported.