Some Mixed-Ligand Iron(III) Complexes Produced by Reactions of Tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III) with Hydrogen Halides in Organic Solvents

Abstract

Abstract Tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III) Fe(acac)3 reacts with an equimolar and double molar amounts of a hydrogen halide in dichloromethane to afford the mixed-ligand iron(III) complexes, FeX(acac)2 and FeX2(acac)H2O, respectively, where X is Cl or Br. They are all high-spin iron(III) complexes and exist as monomeric five-coordinate molecules in non-coordinating solvents, but behave as uni-univalent electrolytes in methanol. Further reactions of FeX2(acac)H2O with an excess of hydrogen halides in dichloromethane followed by the addition of twice as many moles of 1,10-phenanthroline produced [FeX2(phen)2]X. The reactions of FeX2(acac)H2O with excesses of pyridine and 2,2′-bipyridine in tetrahydrofuran gave the six-coordinate complexes FeX2(acac)(py)2and FeX2(acac)(bipy), respectively.