Tunability of the MIIMIII/MII2 and MIII2/MIIMIII (M = Mn, Co) couples in bis-μ-O,O′-carboxylato-μ-OR bridged complexes

Abstract

A comparison of the electrochemical properties of a series of dinuclear complexes [M(2)(L)(RCO(2))(2)](+) with M = Mn or Co, L = 2,6-bis(N,N-bis-(2-pyridylmethyl)-sulfonamido)-4-methylphenolato (bpsmp(-)) or 2,6-bis(N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)aminomethyl)-4-tert-butylphenolato (bpbp(-)) and R = H, CH(3), CF(3) or 3,4-dimethoxybenzoate demonstrates: (i) The electron-withdrawing sulfonyl groups in the backbone of bpsmp(-) stabilize the [M(2)(bpsmp)(RCO(2))(2)](+) complexes in their M(II)(2) oxidation state compared to their [M(2)(bpbp)(RCO(2))(2)](+) analogues. Manganese complexes are stabilised by approximately 550 mV and cobalt complexes by 650 mV. (ii) The auxiliary bridging carboxylato ligands further attenuate the metal-based redox chemistry. Substitution of two acetato for two trifluoroacetato ligands shifts redox couples by 300-400 mV. Within the working potential window, reversible or quasi-reversible M(II)M(III)↔ M(II)(2) processes range from 0.31 to 1.41 V for the [Co(2)(L)(RCO(2))(2)](+/2+) complexes and from 0.54 to 1.41 V for the [Mn(2)(L)(RCO(2))(2)](+/2+) complexes versus Ag/AgCl for E(M(II)M(III)/M(II)(2)). The extreme limits are defined by the complexes [M(2)(bpbp)(CH(3)CO(2))(2)](+) and [M(2)(bpsmp)(CF(3)CO(2))(2)](+) for both metal ions. Thus, tuning the ligand field in these dinuclear complexes makes possible a range of around 0.9 V and 1.49 V for the one-electron E(M(II)M(III)/M(II)(2)) couple of the Mn and Co complexes, respectively. The second one-electron process, M(II)M(III)↔ M(III)(2) was also observed in some cases. The lowest potential recorded for the E°(M(III)(2)/M(II)M(III)) couple was 0.63 V for [Co(2)(bpbp)(CH(3)CO(2))(2)](2+) and the highest measurable potential was 2.23 V versus Ag/AgCl for [Co(2)(bpsmp)(CF(3)CO(2))(2)](2+).