Self-Assembled Heterometallic Complexes by Incorporation of Calcium or Strontium Ion into a Manganese(II) 12-Metallacrown-3 Framework Supported by a Tripodal Ligand with Pyridine-Carboxylate Motifs: Stability in Their Manganese(III) Oxidized Form.

We report on the isolation of a new family of µ-carboxylato-bridged metallocrown (MC) compounds by self-assembly of the recently isolated hexadentate tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine ligand tpada2- incorporating two carboxylate units with metal cations. Twelve-membered MCs of manganese of the type 12-MC-3, namely, [{MnII(tpada)}3(M)(H2O)n]2+ (Mn3M) (M = Mn2+ (n = 0), Ca2+ (n = 1), or Sr2+ (n = 2)), were structurally characterized. The metallamacrocycles connectivity consisting in three -[Mn-O-C-O]- repeating units is provided by one carboxylate unit of the three tpada2- ligands, while the second carboxylate coordinated a fourth cation in the central cavity of the MC, Mn2+ or an alkaline earth metal, Ca2+ or Sr2+. Mn3Ca and {Mn3Sr}2 join the small family of heterometallic manganese-calcium complexes and even rarer manganese-strontium complexes as models of the OEC of photosystem II (PSII). A 8-MC-4 of strontium of the molecular wheel type with four -[Sr-O]- repeating unit was also isolated by self-assembly of the tpada2- ligand with Sr2+. This complex, namely, [Sr(tpada)(OH2)]4 (Sr4), does not incorporate any cation in the central cavity but instead four water molecules coordinated to each Sr2+. Electrochemical investigations coupled to UV-visible absorption and EPR spectroscopies as well as electrospray mass spectrometry reveal the stability of the 12-MC-3 tetranuclear structures in solution, both in the initial oxidation state, MnII3M, as well as in the three-electrons oxidized state, MnIII3M. Indeed, the cyclic voltammogram of all these complexes exhibits three-successive reversible oxidation waves between +0.5 and +0.9 V corresponding to the successive one-electron oxidation of the Mn(II) ion into Mn(III) of the three {Mn(tpada)} units constituting the ring, which are fully maintained after bulk electrolysis.

Seven Reversible Redox Processes in a Self-Assembled Cobalt Pentanuclear Bis(triple-stranded helicate): Structural, Spectroscopic, and Magnetic Characterizations in the CoICoII4, CoII5, and CoII3CoIII2 Redox States.

We report on the synthesis and structural characterization of the cobalt pentanuclear helicate complex from the rigid tetradentate bis(2-pyridyl)-3,5-pyrazolate ligand bpp-, namely, [{CoII(µ-bpp)3}2CoII3(µ3-OH)]3+ (13+), in which a trinuclear {CoII3(µ3-OH)} core is wrapped by two {CoII(µ-bpp)3} units. The cyclic voltammogram of 13+ in CH3CN revealed seven successive reversible one-electron waves, in the 0 and -3.0 V potential range, highlighting the remarkable stability of such architecture in several redox states. Two mixed-valent states of this complex, the two-electron-oxidized CoII3CoIII2 (15+) and the one-electron-reduced species CoICoII4 (12+), were generated by bulk electrolyses and successfully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction among the eight redox levels between CoI5 and CoII3CoIII2 that can be accessed under electrochemical conditions. Because of the crystallographic characterization of 15+ and 12+, the five reduction processes located at E1/2 values of -1.63 (13+/2+), -1.88 (12+/+), -2.14 (1+/0), -2.40 (10/-), and -2.60 V (1-/2-) versus Ag/AgNO3 were unambiguously assigned to the successive reduction of each of the five Co(II) ions to Co(I), starting with the three ions located in the central core followed by the two apical ions. The two other redox events at E1/2 values of -0.21 (14+/3+) and -0.11 V (15+/4+) are assigned to the successive oxidation of the apical Co(II) ions to Co(III). The Co(I) complexes are rare, and the stabilization of a Co(I) within a trinuclear µ-hydroxo core in the reduced species, 12+, 1+, 10, 1-, and 12-, is probably the result of the particular structure of this complex in the presence of the two apical sites that maintain the trinuclear core through the six bridging bpp- ligands. The spectroscopic characteristics of 12+, 13+, and 15+ (ultraviolet-visible and X-band electron paramagnetic resonance) are also described as well as their magnetic properties in the solid state.

Intramolecular Electron Transfers Thwart Bistability in a Pentanuclear Iron Complex.

With the intention to investigate the redox properties of polynuclear complexes as previously reported for the pentamanganese complex [{Mn(II)(µ-bpp)3}2Mn(III)Mn(II)2(µ3-O)](3+) (2(3+)), we focused on the analogous pentairon complex that was previously isolated as all-ferrous. As Masaoka and co-workers recently published, aerobic synthesis leads to the [{Fe(II)(µ-bpp)3}2Fe(III)Fe(II)2(µ3-O)](3+) complex (1(3+)). This species exhibits in acetonitrile solution four reversible one-electron oxidation waves. Accordingly, the three oxidized species 1(4+), 1(5+), and 1(6+) with a 3Fe(II)2Fe(III), 2Fe(II)3Fe(III), and 1Fe(II)4Fe(III) composition, respectively, were generated by bulk electrolysis and isolated. Mössbauer spectroscopy allowed us to determine the spin states of all the iron ions and to unambiguously locate the sites of the successive oxidations. They all occur in the µ3-oxo core except for the 1(4+) to 1(5+) process that presents a striking electronic rearrangement, with both metals in axial position being oxidized while the core is reduced to the [Fe(III)Fe(II)2(µ3-O)](5+) oxidation level. This strongly differs from the redox behavior of the Mn5 system. The origin of this electronic switch is discussed.

Ca K-edge XAS as a probe of calcium centers in complex systems.

Herein, Ca K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is developed as a means to characterize the local environment of calcium centers. The spectra for six, seven, and eight coordinate inorganic and molecular calcium complexes were analyzed and determined to be primarily influenced by the coordination environment and site symmetry at the calcium center. The experimental results are closely correlated to time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations of the XAS spectra. The applicability of this methodology to complex systems was investigated using structural mimics of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of PSII. It was found that Ca K-edge XAS is a sensitive probe for structural changes occurring in the cubane heterometallic cluster due to Mn oxidation. Future applications to the OEC are discussed.

A bio-inspired switch based on cobalt(II) disulfide/cobalt(III) thiolate interconversion.

Disulfide/thiolate interconversion supported by transition-metal ions is proposed to be implicated in fundamental biological processes, such as the transport of metal ions or the regulation of the production of reactive oxygen species. We report herein a mononuclear dithiolate Co(III) complex, [Co(III)LS(Cl)] (1; LS=sulfur containing ligand), that undergoes a clean, fast, quantitative and reversible Co(II) disulfide/Co(III) thiolate interconversion mediated by a chloride anion. The removal of Cl(-) from the Co(III) complex leads to the formation of a bis(µ-thiolato) µ-disulfido dicobalt(II) complex, [Co2(II,II)LSSL](2+) (2(2+)). The structures of both complexes have been resolved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction; their magnetic, spectroscopic, and redox properties investigated together with DFT calculations. This system is a unique example of metal-based switchable M(n)2-RSSR/2 M((n+1))-SR (M=metal ion, n=oxidation state) system that does not contain copper, acts under aerobic conditions, and involves systems with different nuclearities.

Calcium and heterometallic manganese-calcium complexes supported by tripodal pyridine-carboxylate ligands: structural, EPR and theoretical investigations.

Carboxylate-bridged Mn(II)-Ca(II) complexes are potentially relevant for mimicking the first stages of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex (OEC) assembly process. Here, we report on new homonuclear Ca(II) and heteronuclear Mn(II)­Ca(II) complexes with carboxylate-functionalized tripodal tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine ligands, the heptadentate H3tpaa, previously reported, and the new hexadentate H2tpada, containing respectively three and two carboxylate units. The mononuclear [Ca(Htpaa)(OH2)] (Ca1) and dinuclear [Ca(tpada)(OH2)2]2 (Ca2) calcium complexes, as well as the tetranuclear [{Mn(tpaa)}2{Ca(OH2)5(µ-OH2)}2][Mn(tpaa)]2 (Mn2Ca2·2Mn) and dinuclear [Mn(tpada)ClCa(OH2)2.67(MeOH)2.33]Cl (MnCa) heterometallic species have been structurally characterized; the syntheses of Ca1 and Mn2Ca2·2Mn being previously reported by us (Inorg. Chem., 2015, 54, 1283). The Mn(II) and Ca(II) are linked by two µ1,1-bridging carboxylates in MnCa, while only one µ1,3-carboxylate bridge connects each Ca2+ ion to each Mn(II) in Mn2Ca2. A variable number of water molecules (n = 1 to 7) are coordinated to Ca in all complexes, most of them being involved in hydrogen-bond networks, in analogy to what occurs in the photosystem II. All donor atoms of the tpaa3- and tpada2- ligands are coordinated to the Mn2+ ions, despite the unusually long distance between the Mn2+ ion and the tertiary amine imposed by the constraining nature of the ligands, as supported by theoretical calculations. Solid state EPR spectroscopy, in combination with DFT calculations, has also shown that the Ca2+ ion has an effect on the electronic parameters (zero field splitting) of the linked Mn(II) in the case of MnCa (µ1,1-carboxylate bridges). In Mn2Ca2 (µ1,3-carboxylate bridge) the Ca2+ ion induces only slight structural changes in the Mn coordination sphere.

Structural, spectroscopic and redox properties of a mononuclear Co(II) thiolate complex--the reactivity toward S-alkylation: an experimental and theoretical study.

The structural, spectroscopic, redox properties and also the reactivity toward S-alkylation of a new mononuclear N2S2 dithiolate Co(II) complex [CoL] (1), with H(2)L = 2,2'-(2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-diyl)bis(1,1-diphenylethanethiol), have been investigated. The X-ray structure of 1 has revealed an unusual distorted square planar geometry for a Co(II) ion within a thiolate environment. The X-band EPR spectrum of displays a rhombic S = 1/2 signal consistent with a low spin configuration for the d(7) Co(II) ion with a large g-anisotropy (g(x) = 2.94, g(y) = 2.32 and g(z) = 2.01). By pulsed EPR experiments (HYSCORE), two weak hyperfine couplings (hfc) of 3.2 and 2.2 MHz have been measured and attributed respectively to protons and nitrogen nuclei of the bipyridine unit. In addition, another hyperfine coupling (hfc) of 7.5 MHz has been attributed to the cobalt ion. DFT calculations have successfully reproduced the (59)Co and (14)N hfc parameters. However, multiconfigurational ab initio calculations were required to predict the g-tensor of 1. The cyclic voltammogram (CV) displays two one-electron metal based processes: a quasi-reversible Co(III)/Co(II) oxidation wave at E(1/2) = -0.5 V vs. Fc(+)/Fc and a quasi-reversible Co(II)/Co(I) reduction wave at E(1/2) = -1.7 V. 1 reacts with CH(3)I, generating the mono S-methylated complex, [CoL(Me)I] (1(Me)). The X-band EPR spectrum of 1(Me) displays a typical signal of a high spin (S = 3/2) Co(II) species. An optimized structure of 1(Me), calculated by DFT, is consistent with its EPR and UV-visible spectra. Time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations attribute the most prominent features observed in the electronic absorption spectra of 1 and 1(Me). The singly occupied MO (SOMO) of 1 shows a notable delocalization of the unpaired electron over the metal (85%) and the ligand, especially over the sulphur atoms (10.5%), indicating a certain degree of covalency for the Co-S bonds. In 1(Me), for two of the three SOMOs, the unpaired electron is notably delocalized over the metal (78.5 and 77.6%, respectively) and the ligand (12.5 and 7.8%, respectively over the sulphur of the thiolate function). For the third SOMO, the unpaired electron is mainly localized on the metal (92.2%). There is no electronic density spread on the sulphur atom of the thioether function in any of these SOMOs. The reactivity and the electronic properties of 1 are also compared with those of the analogous [ZnL] and [NiL] complexes.