Ligand Donor Strength Research Articles

Alkenyl complexes of platinum group metals: a platform for diverse reactivity patterns

Intermediates for many catalysis reactions reported in the literature are metal‐alkyl and metal‐alkenyl, including metallacycloalkane species. Synthesis and reactions of metal‐alkyl, alkenyl and metallacyle complexes have shown a great deal of development during the past few decades. This review summarizes the significant contributions reported on metal‐alkenyl compounds, specifically those containing at least a carbon chain with pendant alkene group [M―CH2CH2CHCH2]. Although metal‐alkenyl complexes are stable with strong chelating diphosphines and with a decrease in the ligand donor strength, the complexes can decompose without any ambiguity. For example, platinum‐dialkenyl complexes react readily via β‐hydrogen elimination and reductive elimination promoted by the nature of the ligand, solvent and length of carbon chains. These complexes can also undergo intramolecular irreversible isomerization and this leads to the selective catalytic isomerization of 1‐alkenes to 2‐alkenes in the presence of platinum‐dialkenyl complexes as catalysts. Perhaps the most striking manifestations of flexibility are the facile and complete intramolecular and intermolecular alkene metathesis to yield the corresponding metallacycloalkenes in the presence of Grubbs’ catalysts. The diverse chemical reactivity of these complexes demonstrates both the scope and complexity of metal‐alkenyl chemistry depending on the nature of ligand and metal. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ruthenium(IV) Complexes for Ethylene Insertion Polymerization

The synthesis, characterization, and ethylene polymerization behavior of novel RuIV(η3:η3-C10H16)(OPO) (OPO = bis(arenesulfonato)phosphine) complexes is reported here. Upon activation with AlMe3-depleted methylaluminoxane (dMAO), the Ru(IV) precursors were able to produce polyethylene with activities up to 1182 h–1 turnover frequency (TOF). The polymers were highly linear with a low degree of branching (<12 methyl branches per 1000 C) and had high molecular weights (up to Mp = 289 kg mol–1) with a bimodal molecular weight distribution. The polymerization activity increased with decreasing donor strength of the OPO ligand.

Influence of Pyrazolate vs N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands on the Slow Magnetic Relaxation of Homoleptic Trischelate Lanthanide(III) and Uranium(III) Complexes

Two isostructural series of trigonal prismatic complexes, M(Bp(Me))3 and M(Bc(Me))3 (M = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, U; [Bp(Me)](-) = dihydrobis(methypyrazolyl)borate; [Bc(Me)](-) = dihydrobis(methylimidazolyl)borate) are synthesized and fully characterized to examine the influence of ligand donor strength on slow magnetic relaxation. Investigation of the dynamic magnetic properties reveals that the oblate electron density distributions of the Tb(3+), Dy(3+), and U(3+) metal ions within the axial ligand field lead to slow relaxation upon application of a small dc magnetic field. Significantly, the magnetization relaxation is orders of magnitude slower for the N-heterocyclic carbene complexes, M(Bc(Me))3, than for the isomeric pyrazolate complexes, M(Bp(Me))3. Further, investigation of magnetically dilute samples containing 11-14 mol % of Tb(3+), Dy(3+), or U(3+) within the corresponding Y(3+) complex matrix reveals thermally activated relaxation is favored for the M(Bc(Me))3 complexes, even when dipolar interactions are largely absent. Notably, the dilute species U(Bc(Me))3 exhibits Ueff ≈ 33 cm(-1), representing the highest barrier yet observed for a U(3+) molecule demonstrating slow relaxation. Additional analysis through lanthanide XANES, X-band EPR, and (1)H NMR spectroscopies provides evidence that the origin of the slower relaxation derives from the greater magnetic anisotropy enforced within the strongly donating N-heterocyclic carbene coordination sphere. These results show that, like molecular symmetry, ligand-donating ability is a variable that can be controlled to the advantage of the synthetic chemist in the design of single-molecule magnets with enhanced relaxation barriers.

Ligand characteristics and in situ generation of Pd active species towards C[sbnd]C coupling using series of 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenols

Series of systematically varied 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenol ligand frameworks, which were synthesized and properly characterized, have been used to investigate favourable ligand characteristics towards in situ formation of active palladium species in Suzuki–Miyaura coupling. Structures of 2-(4,5-diethyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-4-nitrophenol (p-N∼de) and 4-(tert-butyl)-2-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenol (p-tBu∼dp) as well as the palladium complex of 2-(4,5-diethyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenol (Pd.de2) were confirmed. Structural analyses show that para-nitro-substituted phenol moieties bear poor oxo-donor atom while the reverse was observed for para-tBu-substituted analogues. Ligand donor strengths were also determined by pKa analysis.Under the same reaction conditions for palladium catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling in the presence of ‘ligand+palladium(II) acetate’ catalyst system, results show that electronic properties of the ligands are more important than the variation in steric properties. In particular, ligands with strong bidentate chelate coordination potentials acted as poisons while those with monodentate coordination potential proved to be very beneficial towards in situ generation of superior active species. Furthermore, correlation between donor strength pKa data and the trends in catalytic efficiencies as a consequence of ligand presence was studied. Therefore, it was concluded that ligands with strong chelation tendencies adversely impacted in situ palladium catalyst generation efficiency and that there appears to be moderate steric requirement from ligands for optimal catalyst efficiency.

Reductive functionalization of a rhodium(iii)–methyl bond by electronic modification of the supporting ligand

Net reductive elimination (RE) of MeX (X = halide or pseudo-halide: Cl(-), CF3CO2(-), HSO4(-), OH(-)) is an important step during Pt-catalyzed hydrocarbon functionalization. Developing Rh(I/III)-based catalysts for alkane functionalization is an attractive alternative to Pt-based systems, but very few examples of RE of alkyl halides and/or pseudo-halides from Rh(III) complexes have been reported. Here, we compare the influence of the ligand donor strength on the thermodynamic potentials for oxidative addition and reductive functionalization using [(t)Bu3terpy]RhCl (1) {(t)Bu3terpy = 4,4',4''-tri-tert-butylpyridine} and [(NO2)3terpy]RhCl (2) {(NO2)3terpy = 4,4',4''-trinitroterpyridine}. Complex 1 oxidatively adds MeX {X = I(-), Cl(-), CF3CO2(-) (TFA(-))} to afford [(t)Bu3terpy]RhMe(Cl)(X) {X = I(-) (3), Cl(-) (4), TFA(-) (5)}. By having three electron-withdrawing NO2 groups, complex 2 does not react with MeCl or MeTFA, but reacts with MeI to yield [(NO2)3terpy]RhMe(Cl)(I) (6). Heating 6 expels MeCl along with a small quantity of MeI. Repeating this experiment but with excess [Bu4N]Cl exclusively yields MeCl, while adding [Bu4N]TFA yields a mixture of MeTFA and MeCl. In contrast, 3 does not reductively eliminate MeX under similar conditions. DFT calculations successfully predict the reaction outcome by complexes 1 and 2. Calorimetric measurements of [(t)Bu3terpy]RhI (7) and [(t)Bu3terpy]RhMe(I)2 (8) were used to corroborate computational models. Finally, the mechanism of MeCl RE from 6 was investigated via DFT calculations, which supports a nucleophilic attack by either I(-) or Cl(-) on the Rh-CH3 bond of a five-coordinate Rh complex.

High-contrast fluorescence sensing of aqueous Cu(I) with triarylpyrazoline probes: dissecting the roles of ligand donor strength and excited state proton transfer.

Cu(I)-responsive fluorescent probes based on a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism generally show incomplete fluorescence recovery relative to the intrinsic quantum yield of the fluorescence reporter. Previous studies on probes with an N-aryl thiazacrown Cu(I)-receptor revealed that the recovery is compromised by incomplete Cu(I)-N coordination and resultant ternary complex formation with solvent molecules. Building upon a strategy that successfully increased the fluorescence contrast and quantum yield of Cu(I) probes in methanol, we integrated the arylamine PET donor into the backbone of a hydrophilic thiazacrown ligand with a sulfonated triarylpyrazoline as a water-soluble fluorescence reporter. This approach was not only expected to disfavor ternary complex formation in aqueous solution but also to maximize PET switching through a synergistic Cu(I)-induced conformational change. The resulting water-soluble probe 1 gave a strong 57-fold fluorescence enhancement upon saturation with Cu(I) with high selectivity over other cations, including Cu(II), Hg(II), and Cd(II); however, the recovery quantum yield did not improve over probes with the original N-aryl thiazacrown design. Concluding from detailed photophysical data, including responses to acidification, solvent isotope effects, quantum yields, and time-resolved fluorescence decay profiles, the fluorescence contrast of 1 is compromised by inadequate coordination of Cu(I) to the weakly basic arylamine nitrogen of the PET donor and by fluorescence quenching via two distinct excited state proton transfer pathways operating under neutral and acidic conditions.

Correlation of spectroscopically determined ligand donor strength and nucleophilicity of substituted pyrazoles

The relative ligand donor strengths of 10 pyrazole-derived ligands has been determined with great accuracy, making use of the interdependence between the donor strength of the co-ligand and the (13)C NMR chemical shift of the (i)Pr(2)-bimy carbene signal in trans-[PdBr(2)((i)Pr(2)-bimy)L] complexes ((i)Pr(2)-bimy = 1,3-diisopropylbenzimidazolin-2-ylidene; L = pyrazole-derived ligand). Even subtle variations in the substitution pattern of the pyrazole backbone up to three bonds away from the coordinating nitrogen could be detected reliably using this methodology. Alkylation experiments conducted on the pyrazoles using electrophiles of varied reactivity (ethyl bromide, ethyl iodide, and trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate) served as a benchmark to rank the pyrazoles in three groups of gradually increasing nucleophilicity, which correlated well with their determined donor strength.

Tetra-μ-acetato-κ8O:O′-bis[(3-cyanopyridine-κN1)ruthenium(II,III)](Ru—Ru) hexafluoridophosphate 1,2-dichloroethane monosolvate

The title compound, [Ru2(CH3CO2)4(C6H4N2)2]PF6·C2H4Cl2, was obtained via a rapid substitution reaction in 2-propanol whereby 3-cyano­pyridine replaces the axial water mol­ecules in the diaquatetra-μ-acetato-diruthenium(II,III) hexa­fluorido­phosphate starting material. The product rapidly precipated and crystals were grown from 1,2-dichloro­ethane. The 1,2-dichloro­ethane mol­ecule of solvation exhibits disorder with two different orientations [occupancy ratio 0.51 (6):0.49 (6)]. All three parts, the cation, the anion and the disordered solvent mol­ecule lie on crystallographic inversion centers. The Ru—Ru bond length of 2.2702 (6) Å fits nicely into the range seen for similar complexes and correlates well with the reduction potential of the complex and donor strength of the axial ligand, 3-cyano­pyridine, as postulated in a previous study [Vamvounis et al. (2000 ▶). Inorg. Chim. Acta, 305, 87–98]. The 3-cyano­pyridine ligands orient themselves in an anti configuration with respect to each other and the Ru—Ru—N angle [174.27 (7)°] is close to being linear.

Dissecting the role of guanidine copper complexes in atom transfer radical polymerization by density functional theory

Since the development of the living / controlled radical polymerization method ATRP (= atom transfer radical polymerization) in 1995 [1] new catalysts for this reaction have been intensively investigated. This method conquered rapidly numerous fields in chemistry ranging from organic and polymer synthesis to materials science and nanotechnology. Guanidine copper complexes display high activity in ATRP of styrene but the factors imposed on the activator/deactivator equilibrium are multifaceted [2]. Herein we report on new copper complexes with the guanidine ligand 1,3,3-tetramethyl-2-(quinolin-8-yl)guanidine which produce polystyrene with a narrow weight distribution and in high yields. Kinetic studies showed that the polymerization is of living character. Structural characterization leads us to a proposal for the activator and deactivator structures which control the ATRP (Figure ​(Figure1).1). By density functional theory, we were able to dissect the influences on the position of the equilibrium between the Cu(I) and Cu(II) complex (ligand donor strength, halogene bond strength, redox potential, coordinative space) operating the polymerization process. Figure 1 Activator/deactivator equilibrium in ATRP.

On the rate-determining step and the ligand electronic effects in rhodium catalysed hydrogenation of enamines and the hydroaminomethylation of alkenes

In the course of studies on the tandem hydroformylation–reductive amination (hydroaminomethylation), fluorinated mono-phosphines were found to be more active than their more electron-donating counterparts in the enamine hydrogenation step of the reaction; this is in contrast to the widely held view that alkene hydrogenation activity increases with ligand donor strength. DFT calculations comparing the reaction pathways for a simple alkene and a representative enamine show that the rate-determining step changes from the first insertion into a Rh–H bond for but-2-ene to the final reductive elimination step from the Rh–hydride–alkyl species in the enamine hydrogenations.

ChemInform Abstract: Iridium Complexes of N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes in C—H Borylation Using Energy Efficient Microwave Technology: Influence of Structure, Ligand Donor Strength and Counter Ion on Catalytic Activity.

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Iridium complexes of N-heterocyclic carbenes in C–H borylation using energy efficient microwave technology: influence of structure, ligand donor strength and counter ion on catalytic activity

Bridged and unbridged N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands were metalated with [Ir(COD)Cl]2 to give iridium(I) mono- and biscarbene substituted catalysts [Ir(COD)NHC(Cl)] and [Ir(COD)(NHC)2][X] (X: I, PF6, BF4, CF3COO, OTf). The prepared NHC-complexes were tested in the C–H borylation reaction of aromatic carbons with bis(pinacolato)diboron (B2pin2) and pinacolborane (HBpin). The use of microwave technology in this study not only facilitates a time efficient screening of a wide range of influences such as ligand σ-donor strength and structural motif as well as the effects of the complex counter ion, but also provides an energy efficient heating source. Catalyst 6TFA, which features a chelating NHC ligand, proved to be most effective catalyst and further investigations with this complex in the borylation of mono- and disubstituted benzene derivatives exploring chemo- and regioselectivity were undertaken.

Hypercoordinate Silicon Complexes Based on Hydrazide Ligands. A Remarkably Flexible Molecular System

Though only one row apart on the periodic table, silicon greatly differs from carbon in its ability to readily form five- and six-coordinate complexes, termed "hypercoordinate silicon compounds". The assorted chemistry of these compounds is varied in both structures and reactivity and has generated a flurry of innovative research endeavors in recent years. This Account summarizes the latest work done on a specific class of hypercoordinate silicon compounds, specifically those with two hydrazide-derived chelate rings. This family is especially interesting due to the ability to form multiple penta- and hexacoordinate complexes, the chemical reactivity of pentacoordinate complexes, and the observation of intermolecular ligand crossovers in hexacoordinate complexes. Pentacoordinate complexes in this family exhibit marked structural flexibility, as demonstrated by the construction of a complete hypothetical Berry-pseudorotation reaction coordinate generated from individual crystallographic molecular structures. Although hexacoordinate complexes generally crystallize as octahedra, with a decrease in the ligand donor strength the complexes can crystallize as bicapped tetrahedra. Hexacoordinate complexes bearing a halogen ligand undergo a solvent-driven equilibrium ionic dissociation, which is controlled by solvent, temperature, counterion, and chelate structure and has been directly demonstrated by conductivity measurements and temperature-dependent (29)Si NMR. Hexacoordinate silicon complexes can also undergo reversible neutral nonionic dissociation of the N-Si dative bond. Ionic pentacoordinate siliconium salts react readily via methyl halide elimination, initiated by their own counterion acting as a base. Pentacoordinate complexes can also undergo intramolecular aldol condensations of imines, which may find potential as a template for organic synthesis. In addition, these complexes are capable of performing an uncatalyzed intramolecular hydrosilylation of imine double bonds. Perhaps the most striking manifestations of flexibility are the facile and complete intermolecular ligand crossovers. Crossovers have been observed between different hexacoordinate complexes, and between complex molecules and their differently substituted precursors, and take place within minutes. Although the precise mechanisms of these transformations remain elusive, NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements have shed light on these interesting phenomena. A profusion of crystallographic data and careful NMR experimentation has led to an improved understanding of penta- and hexacoordinate hydrazide-based silicon dichelates. The diverse chemical reactivity of these complexes demonstrates both the scope and complexity of silicon chemistry. Future exploration into the structures and chemistry of hypercoordinate silicon will continue to enhance our understanding and appreciation of this unique element.

Computational Studies of the H-Cluster of Fe-Only Hydrogenases: Geometric, Electronic, and Magnetic Properties and Their Dependence on the [Fe4S4] Cubane

The active sites of Fe-only hydrogenases (FeHases) feature an unusual polynuclear iron-sulfur cluster, known as the H-cluster, that consists of a [Fe4S4] cubane linked to a di-iron subunit (the [2Fe]H component) via a bridging cysteine ligand (SCys). While previous computational studies of FeHases employed H-cluster models that only included the [2Fe]H component, we have utilized density functional theory (DFT), in conjunction with the broken-symmetry (BS) approach, to explore the geometric, electronic, and magnetic properties of the entire H-cluster. These calculations have allowed us to evaluate, for the first time, the influence of the [Fe4S4] cubane on the [2Fe]H component of the H-cluster in its active (Hox) and CO-inhibited (Hox-CO) states, both of which are paramagnetic (S=1/2). Our results reveal that the presence of the cubane tunes both the position and the donor strength of the SCys ligand, which, in turn, modulates the internal geometric and electronic structures of the [2Fe]H subcluster. Importantly, the BS methodology provides an accurate description of the exchange interactions within the H-cluster, permitting insight into the electronic origin of the changes in magnetic properties observed experimentally upon conversion of Hox to Hox-CO. Specifically, while the unpaired spin density in the Hox state is localized on the distal Fe center, in the Hox-CO state, it is delocalized over the [2Fe]H component, such that the proximal Fe center acquires significant spin density (where distal and proximal refer to the positions of the Fe centers relative to the cubane). To validate our H-cluster models on the basis of experimental data, two DFT-based approaches and the semiempirical INDO/S method have been employed to compute electron paramagnetic resonance parameters for the H-cluster states. While most computations yield reasonably accurate g values and ligand hyperfine coupling constants (i.e., A values) for the Hox and Hox-CO states, they fail to reproduce the isotropic 57Fe A tensors found experimentally. Finally, extension of the computational methodology employed successfully for the Hox and Hox-CO states to the metastable Hoxphoto state, generated by irradiation of the Hox-CO state at cryogenic temperatures, has allowed us to discriminate between proposed structural models for this species.

CO-dependent Activity-controlling Mechanism of Heme-containing CO-sensor Protein, Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2

Neuronal PAS domain protein 2, which was recently established to be a heme protein, acts as a CO-dependent transcription factor. The protein consists of the basic helix-loop-helix domain and two heme-containing PAS domains (PAS-A and PAS-B). In this study, we prepared wild type and mutants of the isolated PAS-A domain and measured resonance Raman spectra of these proteins. Upon excitation of the Raman spectrum at 363.8 nm, a band assignable to Fe3+-S stretching was observed at 334 cm(-1) for the ferric wild type protein; in contrast, this band was drastically weaker in the spectrum of C170A, suggesting that Cys170 is an axial ligand of the ferric heme. The Raman spectrum of the reduced form of wild type was mainly of six-coordinate low spin, and the nu11 band, which is sensitive to the donor strength of the axial ligand, was lower than that of reduced cytochrome c3, suggesting coordination of a strong ligand and thus a deprotonated His. In the reduced forms of H119A and H171A, the five-coordinate species became more prevalent, whereas no such changes were observed for C170A, indicating that His119 and His171, but not Cys170, are axial ligands in the ferrous heme. This means that ligand replacement from Cys to His occurs upon heme reduction. The nu(Fe-CO) versus nu(C-O) correlation indicates that a neutral His is a trans ligand of CO. Our results support a mechanism in which CO binding disrupts the hydrogen bonding of His171 with surrounding amino acids, which induces conformational changes in the His171-Cys170 moiety, leading to physiological signaling.

CO as a vibrational probe of heme protein active sites

Carbon monoxide is a useful vibrational probe of heme binding sites in proteins, because FeCO backbonding is modulated by polar interactions with protein residues, and by variations in the donor strength of the trans ligand. This modulation is sensitively monitored by the CO and FeC stretching frequencies, which are readily detectable in infrared and resonance Raman spectra. The two frequencies are anticorrelated, and the νFeC/ νCO position along the correlation line reflects the type and strength of distal polar interactions. Changes in the trans ligand donor strength shift the correlation to higher or lower positions. Illustrative applications of the νFeC/ νCO diagram are reviewed for proteins bearing histidine and thiolate axial ligands. Steric crowding has not been found to affect the νFeC/ νCO correlations significantly, except in the special case of cytochrome oxidase, where the heme-bound CO may interact with the nearby Cu B center.

Antiferromagnetic coupling between rare earth ions and semiquinones in a series of 1:1 complexes.

We use the strategy of diamagnetic substitution for obtaining information on the crystal field effects in paramagnetic rare earth ions using the homologous series of compounds with the diamagnetic tropolonato ligand, Ln(Trp)(HBPz(3))(2), and the paramagnetic semiquinone ligand, Ln(DTBSQ)(HBPz(3))(2), (DTBSQ = 3,5-di-tert-butylsemiquinonato, Trp = tropolonate, HBPz(3)= hydrotrispyrazolylborate) for Ln = Sm(iii), Eu(iii), Gd(iii), Tb(iii), Dy(iii), Ho(iii), Er(iii) or Yb(iii). The X-ray crystal structure of a new form of tropolonate derivative is presented, which shows, as expected, a marked similarity with the structure of the semiquinonate derivative. The Ln(Trp)(HBPz(3))(2) derivatives were then used as a reference for the qualitative determination of crystal field effects in the exchange coupled semiquinone derivatives. Through magnetisation and susceptibility measurements this empirical diamagnetic substitution method evidenced for Er(iii), Tb(iii), Dy(iii) and Yb(iii) derivatives a dominating antiferromagnetic coupling. The increased antiferromagnetic contribution compared to other radical-rare earth metal complexes formed by nitronyl nitroxide ligands may be related to the increased donor strength of the semiquinone ligand.

Spectroscopic studies of the effect of ligand donor strength on the Fe-NO bond intradiol dioxygenases.

The geometric and electronic structure of NO bound to reduced protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase and its substrate (3,4-dihydroxybenzoate, PCA) complex have been examined by X-ray absorption (XAS), UV-vis absorption (Abs), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and variable temperature variable field (VTVH) MCD spectroscopies. The results are compared to those previously published on model complexes described as [FeNO]7 systems in which an S = 5/2 ferric center is antiferromagnetically coupled to an S = 1 NO-. XAS pre-edge analysis indicates that the Fe-NO units in FeIIIPCD[NO-] and FeIIIPCD[PCA,NO-] lack the greatly increased pre-edge intensity representative of most [FeNO]7 model sites. Furthermore, from extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis, the FeIIIPCD[NO-] and FeIIIPCD[PCA,NO-] active sites are shown to have an Fe-NO distance of at least 1.91 A, approximately 0.2 A greater than those found in the model complexes. The weakened Fe-NO bond is consistent with the overall lengthening of the bond lengths and the fact that VTVH MCD data show that NO(-)-->FeIII CT transitions are no longer polarized along the z-axis of the zero-field splitting tensor. The weaker Fe-NO bond derives from the strong donor interaction of the endogenous phenolate and substrate catecholate ligands, which is observed from the increased intensity in the CT region relative to that of [FeNO]7 model complexes, and from the shift in XAS edge position to lower energy. As NO is an analogue of O2, the effect of endogenous ligand donor strength on the Fe-NO bond has important implications with respect to O2 activation by non-heme iron enzymes.

Participation of co-ligands in electronic transitions of platinum(II) diazabutadiene complexes.

The low-lying electronic transitions and photochemical reactions of a series of [((i)Pr-DAB)Pt(R)(2)] (where the co-ligand R = CH(3), CD(3), adme, neop, neoSi, C(triple bond)C(t)Bu, C(triple bond)CPh, Ph, Mes) compounds were studied using both experimental (electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy) and theoretical (density functional theory, DFT) techniques. The high-lying filled orbitals were revealed to have a significant co-ligand contribution in the case of alkyl complexes, while this contribution is predominant for the complexes with unsaturated co-ligands. Because the electronic transition removes electron density from the sigma(Pt-C) bond in the former complexes, it is best described as a metal-to-ligand charge transfer transition (MLCT) with partial sigma-bond-to-ligand charge transfer (SBLCT) character. Because the sigma(Pt-C) orbital is not involved in the HOMOs of the latter complexes, the low-lying transitions were characterized as mixed MLCT/L'LCT, where L'LCT stands for ligand-to-ligand charge transfer from the pi system of the unsaturated co-ligand to the pi((i)Pr-DAB) orbital. The alkyl complexes are photoreactive on visible light irradiation with Pt-C bond homolysis as the primary step. The efficiency of the photoreaction increases with increasing sigma donor strength of the alkyl ligand. The absolute quantum yield is quite low. The other complexes are virtually photostable, except when irradiated at relatively high energies.

Synthesis, Structures, and Magnetic Properties of a Series of Lanthanum(III) and Gadolinium(III) Complexes with Chelating Benzimidazole-Substituted Nitronyl Nitroxide Free Radicals. Evidence for Antiferromagnetic GdIII−Radical Interactions

This paper reports the synthesis, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of a series of lanthanide complexes with nitronyl nitroxide radicals of general formula [[Ln(III)(radical)(4)] x (ClO(4))(3) x (H(2)O)(x) x (THF)(y)] (1-4) and [Ln(III)(radical)(2)(NO(3))(3)] (5, 6) [Ln = La (compounds 1, 3, 5) or Gd (compounds 2, 4, and 6); radical = 2-(2'-benzymidazolyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (NITBzImH, compounds 1, 2, 5, 6) or 2-[2'-[(6'-methyl)benzymidazolyl]]-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (NITMeBzImH, compounds 3, 4)]. (1) C(64)H(88)Cl(3)LaN(16)O(24), fw = 1710.76, orthorhombic, Fddd, a = 11.0682(8) A, b = 34.240(3) A, c = 42.787(3) A, V = 16215(2) A(3), Z = 8, R = 0.0876, R(w) = 0.2336. (2) C(64)H(88)Cl(3)GdN(16)O(24), fw = 1729.10, tetragonal, P 4 macro 2c, a = 16.0682(4) A, b = 16.0682(4) A, c = 18.7190(6) A, V = 4833.0(2) A(3), R = 0.0732, R(w) = 0.2218. (3) C(68)H(94)Cl(3)LaN(16)O(23), fw = 1742.80, tetragonal, P 4 macro 2(1)m, a = 21.125(3) A, b = 21.125(3) A, c = 10.938(2) A, V = 4881.5(14) A(3), R = 0.1017, R(w) = 0.3126. (5) C(28)H(34)LaN(11)O(13), fw = 871.57, orthorhombic, Pna2(1), a = 19.5002(12) A, b = 13.0582(8) A, c = 14.5741(9) A, V = 3711.1(4) A(3), R = 0.0331, R(w) = 0.1146. (6) C(28)H(34)GdN(11)O(13), fw = 889.91, orthorhombic, Pna2(1), a = 19.1831(10) A, b = 13.1600(7) A, c = 14.4107(7) A, V = 3638.0(3) A(3), Z = 4, R = 0.0206, R(w) = 0.0625. Compounds 1-4 consist of [M(III)(radical)(4)](3+) cations, uncoordinated perchlorate anions, THF, and water crystallization molecules. In these complexes, the coordination number around the lanthanide ion is eight, and the polyhedron is either a distorted dodecahedron (1) or a distorted cube (2, 3). The crystal structures of 5 and 6 consist of independent [M(III)(radical)(2)(NO(3))(3)] entities in which the lanthanide is ten-coordinated and has a distorted bicapped square antiprism coordination polyhedron. For the lanthanum(III) complexes, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility indicates that radical-radical magnetic interactions are negligible either for compounds 1 and 3, while for compound 5 it is simulated considering dimers of weakly antiferromagnetically coupled radicals (J(rad-rad) = -1.1 cm(-1)). In the case of the gadolinium(III) compounds (2, 4, 6), each magnetic behavior gives unambiguous evidence of antiferromagnetic Gd(III)-radical interaction (2, J(Gd-rad) = -1.8 cm(-1); 4, J(Gd-rad) = -3.8 cm(-1); 6, J(Gd-rad1) = -4.05 cm(-1) and J(Gd-rad2) = -0.80 cm(-1)), in contrast to the ferromagnetic case generally observed. The nature of the Gd(III)-radical interaction is explained in relation to the donor strength of the free radical ligand.