Iron Complexes of a Macrocyclic N-Heterocyclic Carbene/Pyridine Hybrid Ligand

Abstract

The tetradentate ligand system L1 combines two N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and two pyridine donor functions in a macrocyclic scaffold. Its iron(II) complex [FeL1(MeCN)2](PF6)2 (1) has been synthesized and fully characterized. The macrocyclic ligand in 1 is puckered and shows a significant barrier for ring inversion (ΔH⧧ = 15.1 kcal mol–1, and ΔS⧧ = −4.7 cal mol–1 K–1). Axial ligands in 1 can be readily substituted to give heteroleptic [FeL1(CO)(MeCN)](PF6)2 (2) or neutral [FeL1(N3)2] (3). The strong ligand field of the NHC/pyridine hybrid ligand imparts low-spin states (S = 0) for all iron(II) complexes 1–3. Mössbauer data reflect the asymmetric electronic situation that results from the strongly covalent Fe–CNHC bonds in the basal plane constituted by the macrocyclic ligand L1. Oxidation of 1 has been monitored by UV–vis spectro-electro chemistry, and the resulting iron(III) complex [FeL1(MeCN)2](PF6)3 (4) has been isolated after chemical oxidation. SQUID and Mössbauer data have shown an S = 1/2 ground state for 4, and X-ray crystallographic analyses of 1 and 4 revealed that structural parameters of the {FeL1} core are basically invariant with respect to changes in the metal ion’s oxidation state. Density functional theory calculations support the experimental findings. The combined structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical data for 1 with its {C2N2} hybrid ligand L1 allowed for useful comparison with the related iron(II) complex that has a macrocyclic {C4} tetracarbene ligand.