Ligand-Induced Intramolecular Redox Diversity in Titanium Complexes with Acenaphthene-1,2-diimine.

A series of the chlorido and alkoxychlorido titanium complexes of the general formula (dpp-Bian)Ti(OiPr)nCl3-n, where dpp-Bian = 1,2-bis[(2,6-iPr2C6H3)imino]acenaphthene n = 0 (2), 1 (3), 2 (4), as well as (dpp-Bian)Ti(OiPr)2 (5) and (dpp-Bian)Ti(OiPr)Cl3 (3-Cl), were isolated and characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and spectroscopic studies combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In the solid state, compounds 2-4 reveal a square-pyramidal geometry at the metal center supported with monoanionic dpp-Bian, whereas 3-Cl with a neutral diimine ligand and 5 bearing a dianionic enebisamide dpp-Bian show, respectively, an octahedral and tetrahedral coordination surrounding the metal ion. Paramagnetic complexes 2-4 exhibit electron paramagnetic resonance spectra in both toluene solution and solid state, confirming the transfer of spin density from the metal ion to the dpp-Bian ligand as the number of alkoxy groups increases. The increase in polarity of the Ti-N bonds in the row 2 < 3 < 4 contributes to enhanced stability of the metal complexes with respect to O-donor molecules. Thus, in tetrahydrofuran (THF), compounds 2 and 3 undergo reversible solvolysis, whereas complex 4 is stable. The charge and spin density distributions as well as molecular orbital energies in 2-4 were analyzed on the basis of DFT calculations which also provided information on the electronic transition energies, absorption band assignments, and thermodynamic parameters of the reactions between the complexes and THF.

Effect of a single methyl substituent on the electronic structure of cobaltocene studied by computationally assisted MATI spectroscopy.

Metallocenes represent archetypical organometallic compounds playing key roles in various fields of fundamental and applied chemistry. Many of their unique properties arise from low ionization energies (IE) which can be tuned by introducing substituents into the rings. Here we report the first mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectrum of a methylmetallocene, (Cp')(Cp)Co (Cp' = η5-C5H4Me, Cp = η5-C5H5). The presence of a single Me group allows us to study the "pure" effect of methylation without the mutual influence of substituents. The MATI technique provides an extremely high accuracy in determining the adiabatic IE of (Cp')(Cp)Co which equals 5.2097(6) eV. The effect of a Me group on the IE of cobaltocene appears to be 36% stronger than that in bis(η6-benzene)chromium. The MATI spectrum of (Cp')(Cp)Co shows a rich vibronic structure from which vibrational frequencies of the free ion are determined. This information provides a solid basis for testing the quality of quantum chemical calculations. Various levels of the DFT and coupled cluster computations are used to describe the structural and electronic transformations accompanying the detachment of an elctron from (Cp')(Cp)Co. New aspects of the methyl substituent influence on the potential energy surfaces, as well as on the inhomogeneous changes in charge density and electrostatic potential caused by ionization, are discussed.

Praseodymium Metallacrown-Based NMR Probe for Enantioselective Discrimination of Mandelate Anions in Water.

Recently, the enhanced interest in water-soluble aminohydroximate Ln(III)-Cu(II) metallacrowns (MC) is largely due to their fascinating structural chemistry, diverse properties and ease of synthesis. We examined the water-soluble praseodymium(III) alaninehydroximate complex Pr(H2O)4[15-MCCu(II)Alaha-5]·3Cl (1) as a highly effective chiral lanthanide shift reagent for NMR analysis of the biologically relevant (R/S)-mandelate (MA) anions in aqueous media. The R-MA and S-MA enantiomers can be easily discriminated in the presence of small (1.2-6.2 mol %) amounts of MC 1 by the 1H NMR signals of multiple protons exhibiting an enantiomeric shift difference (ΔΔδ) of 0.06 ppm up to 0.31 ppm. Additionally, a possibility of coordination of MA to the metallacrown was investigated by the ESI-MS technique and a Density Functional Theory modeling of the molecular electrostatic potential and noncovalent interactions.

Magnetically induced ring currents in metallocenothiaporphyrins.

The magnetically induced current-density susceptibility tensor (CDT) of the lowest singlet and triplet states of the metallocenothiaporphyrins, where the metal is V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Mo, Tc, Ru, or Rh, have been studied with the gauge-including magnetically induced currents (GIMIC) method. The compounds containing V, Mn, Co, Tc or Rh were studied as cations because the neutral molecules have an odd number of electrons. The calculations show that the aromatic nature of most of the studied molecules follows the Hückel and Baird rules of aromaticity. CDT calculations on the high-spin states of the neutral metallocenothiaporphyrins with V, Mn, Co, Tc or Rh also shows that these molecules follow a unified extended Hückel and Baird aromaticity orbital-count rule stating that molecules with an odd number of occupied conjugated valence orbitals are aromatic, whereas molecules with an even number of occupied conjugated orbitals are antiaromatic.

Ionization of Decamethylmanganocene: Insights from the DFT-Assisted Laser Spectroscopy.

Metallocenes represent one of the most important classes of organometallics with wide prospects for practical use in various fields of chemistry, materials science, molecular electronics, and biomedicine. Many applications of these metal complexes are based on their ability to form molecular ions. We report the first results concerning the changes in the molecular and electronic structure of decamethylmanganocene, Cp*2Mn, upon ionization provided by the high-resolution mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy supported by DFT calculations. The precise ionization energy of Cp*2Mn is determined as 5.349 ± 0.001 eV. The DFT modeling of the MATI spectrum shows that the main structural deformations accompanying the detachment of an electron consist in the elongation of the Mn-C bonds and a change in the Me out-of-plane bending angles. Surprisingly, the DFT calculations predict that most of the reduction in electron density (ED) upon ionization is associated with the hydrogen atoms of the substituents, despite the metal character of the ionized orbital. However, the ED difference isosurfaces reveal a complex mechanism of the charge redistribution involving also the carbon atoms of the molecule.

Perfluorinated Trialkoxysilanol with Dramatically Increased Brønsted Acidity.

The Brønsted acidity of the perfluorinated trialkoxysilanol {(F3 C)3 CO}3 SiOH is more than 13 orders of magnitude higher than that of orthosilicic acid, Si(OH)4 , and even more for most previously known silanols. It is easily deprotonated by simple amines and pyridines to give the conjugate silanolates [OSi{OC(CF3 )3 }3 ]- , which possess extremely short Si-O bonds, comparable to those of silanones.

Lewis Superacidic Tellurenyl Cation-Induced Electrophilic Activation of an Inert Carborane.

The aryltellurenyl cation [2-(tBuNCH)C6 H4 Te]+ , a Lewis super acid, and the weakly coordinating carborane anion [CB11 H12 ]- , an extremely weak Brønsted acid (pKa =131.0 in MeCN), form an isolable ion pair complex [2-(tBuNCH)C6 H4 Te][CB11 H12 ], in which the Brønsted acidity (pKa 7.4 in MeCN) of the formally hydridic B-H bonds is dramatically increased by more than 120 orders of magnitude. The electrophilic activation of B-H bonds in the carborane moiety gives rise to a proton transfer from boron to nitrogen at slightly elevated temperatures, as rationalized by the isolation of a mixture of the zwitterionic isomers 12- and 7-[2-(tBuN{H}CH)C6 H4 Te(CB11 H11 )] in ratios ranging from 62 : 38 to 80 : 20.

Reversible Addition of Carbon Dioxide to Main Group Metal Complexes at Temperatures about 0 °C.

The reaction of dialane [LAl-AlL] (1; L=dianion of 1,2-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene, dpp-bian) with carbon dioxide results in two different products depending on solvent. In toluene at temperatures of about 0 °C, the reaction gives cycloadduct [L(CO2 )Al-Al(O2 C)L] (2), whereas in diethyl ether, the reaction affords oxo-bridged carbamato derivative [L(CO2 )(Et2 O)Al(µ-O)AlL] (3). The DFT and QTAIM calculations provide reasonable explanations for the reversible formation of complex 2 in the course of two subsequent (2+4) cycloaddition reactions. Consecutive transition states with low activation barriers were revealed. Also, the DFT study demonstrated a crucial effect of diethyl ether coordination to aluminium on the reaction of dialane 1 with CO2 . The optimized structures of key intermediates were obtained for the reactions in the presence of Et2 O; calculated thermodynamic parameters unambiguously testify the irreversible formation of the product 3.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived from Calcium and Strontium Complexes of a Redox-Active Ligand.

The reactions of monomeric [(dpp-Bian)M(thf)4] (M = Ca (1a), Sr (1b); dpp-Bian = 1,2-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene) with 4,4'-bipyridyl (4,4'-bipy) proceed with electron transfer from dpp-Bian2- to 4,4'-bipy0 to afford calcium and strontium complexes containing simultaneously radical-anionic dpp-Bian- and 4,4'-bipy- ligands. In tetrahydrofuran (thf) the reactions result in 1D coordination polymers [{(dpp-Bian)M(4,4'-bipy)(thf)2}·4thf]n (M = Ca (2a), Sr (2b)), while in a thf/benzene mixture the reaction between 1a and 4,4'-bipy affords the 2D metal-organic framework [{(dpp-Bian)Ca(4,4'-bipy)2}·2thf·2C6H6]n (3). The structures of compounds 2a,b and 3 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray analyses. The presence of the ligand-localized unpaired electrons allows the use of ESR spectroscopy for characterization of the compounds 2a,b and 3. DFT calculations of model calcium complexes with the dpp-Bian, 4,4'-bipy, and thf ligands confirm the energetically favorable open-shell configurations of the molecules bearing the 4,4'-bipy fragments. The magnetic susceptibility measurements confirm the presence of two unpaired electrons per monomeric unit in 2a,b and 3. The thermal stability of compounds 2a,b and 3 was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). To the best of our knowledge, 3 is the first MOF simultaneously containing two different paramagnetic bridging ligands inside the framework.

Novel Oxidovanadium Complexes with Redox-Active R-Mian and R-Bian Ligands: Synthesis, Structure, Redox and Catalytic Properties.

A new monoiminoacenaphthenone 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3-mian (complex 2) was synthesized and further exploited, along with the already known monoiminoacenaphthenone dpp-mian, to obtain oxidovanadium(IV) complexes [VOCl2(dpp-mian)(CH3CN)] (3) and [VOCl(3,5-(CF3)2C6H3-bian)(H2O)][VOCl3(3,5-(CF3)2C6H3-bian)]·2.85DME (4) from [VOCl2(CH3CN)2(H2O)] (1) or [VCl3(THF)3]. The structure of all compounds was determined using X-ray structural analysis. The vanadium atom in these structures has an octahedral coordination environment. Complex 4 has an unexpected structure. Firstly, it contains 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3-bian instead of 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3-mian. Secondly, it has a binuclear structure, in contrast to 3, in which two oxovanadium parts are linked to each other through V=O···V interaction. This interaction is non-covalent in origin, according to DFT calculations. In structures 2 and 3, non-covalent π-π staking interactions between acenaphthene moieties of the neighboring molecules (distances are 3.36-3.40 Å) with an estimated energy of 3 kcal/mol were also found. The redox properties of the obtained compounds were studied using cyclic voltammetry in solution. In all cases, the reduction processes initiated by the redox-active nature of the mian or bian ligand were identified. The paramagnetic nature of complexes 3 and 4 has been proven by EPR spectroscopy. Complexes 3 and 4 exhibited high catalytic activity in the oxidation of alkanes and alcohols with peroxides. The yields of products of cyclohexane oxidation were 43% (complex 3) and 27% (complex 4). Based on the data regarding the study of regio- and bond-selectivity, it was concluded that hydroxyl radicals play the most crucial role in the reaction. The initial products in the reactions with alkanes are alkyl hydroperoxides, which are easily reduced to their corresponding alcohols by the action of triphenylphosphine (PPh3). According to the DFT calculations, the difference in the catalytic activity of 3 and 4 is most likely associated with a different mechanism for the generation of ●OH radicals. For complex 4 with electron-withdrawing CF3 substituents at the diimine ligand, an alternative mechanism, different from Fenton's and involving a redox-active ligand, is assumed.

A Small Cationic Organo-Copper Cluster as Thermally Robust Highly Photo- and Electroluminescent Material.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are revolutionizing display applications. In this aspect, luminescent complexes of precious metals such as iridium, platinum, or ruthenium still playing a significant role. Emissive compounds of earth-abundant copper with equivalent performance are desired for practical, large-scale applications such as solid-state lighting and displays. Copper(I)-based emitters are well-known to suffer from weak spin-orbit coupling and a high reorganization energy upon photoexcitation. Here we report a cationic organo-copper cluster [Cu4(PCP)3]+ (PCP = 2,6-(PPh2)2C6H3) that features suppressed nonradiative decays, giving rise to a robust narrow-band green luminophore with a photoluminescent (PL) efficiency up to 93%. PL decay kinetics corroborated by DFT calculations reveal a complex emission mechanism involving contributions of both thermally activated delayed fluorescence and phosphorescence. This robust compound was solution-processed into a thin film in prototype OLEDs with external quantum efficiency up to 11% and a narrow emission bandwidth (65 nm fwhm).

Water-Soluble Bismuth(III) Polynuclear Tyrosinehydroximate Metallamacrocyclic Complex: Structural Parallels to Lanthanide Metallacrowns.

Recently there has been a great deal of interest and associated research into aspects of the coordination chemistry of lanthanides and bismuth-elements that show intriguing common features. This work focuses on the synthesis and characterization of a novel bismuth(III) polynuclear metallamacrocyclic complex derived from aminohydroxamic acid, in order to compare the coordination ability of Bi3+ with the similarly sized La3+ ions. A polynuclear tyrosinehydroximate Bi(OH)[15-MCCu(II)Tyrha-5](NO3)2 (1) was obtained according to the synthetic routes previously described for water-soluble Ln(III)-Cu(II) 15-MC-5 metallacrowns. Correlations between structural parameters of Bi(III) and Ln(III) complexes were analyzed. DFT calculations confirmed the similarity between molecular structures of the model bismuth(III) and lanthanum(III) tyrosinehydroximate 15-metallacrowns-5. Analysis of the electronic structures revealed, however, stronger donor-acceptor interactions between the central ion and the metallamacrocycle in the case of the lanthanum analogue. Thermochromic properties of 1 were studied.

Reversible C=C Bond Activation by an Intramolecularly Coordinated Antimony(I) Compound.

The reaction of N,C,N-chelated stibinidene ArSb (1) (Ar=C6 H3 -2,6-(CH=NtBu)2 ) with selected N-alkyl/aryl-maleimides RN(C(O)CH)2 (R=Me, tBu, Ph) gave the addition products with bridged bicyclic [2.2.1] structure containing an antimony atom at the bridgehead position, fused with a 6-membered benzene and a 5-membered N-alkyl/aryl-pyrrolidine ring. These compounds were completely characterized. More importantly, additional studies showed that these reactions are reversible in solution, thereby representing an unprecedented reversible activation of a C=C bond by an antimony(I) compound.

From a 2,1-Benzazaarsole to Elusive 1-Arsanaphthalenes in One Step.

The 2,1-benzazaarsole (1) showed a diene-like reactivity towards selected alkynes RC≡CR (R=CO2 Me, C5 F4 N) thus forming 1-arsa-1,4-dihydro-iminonaphthalenes 2 a and 3 a as hardly isolable intermediates, that underwent facile CH→NH proton migration leading to before elusive substituted 1-arsanaphthalenes 2 b and 3 b that could be completely structurally characterized.

One-Electron Reduction of 2-Mono(2,6-diisopropylphenylimino)acenaphthene-1-one (dpp-mian).

The electrochemical characteristics of 2-mono(2,6-diisopropylphenylimino)acenaphthene-1-one (dpp-mian) have been investigated. One-electron reduction of dpp-mian involves the iminoketone fragment, which is revealed by the EPR spectrum obtained after the electrolysis of the dpp-mian solution in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The reduction of dpp-mian with one equivalent of metallic potassium leads to a similar EPR spectrum. The sodium complex [(dpp-mian)Na(dme)]2 (1) produces an EPR signal with hyperfine coupling on the nitrogen atom of the iminoketone fragment of the dpp-mian ligand. Dpp-mian can also be reduced in a one-electron process by SnCl2 ×(dioxane). In this case, complex (dpp-mian)2 SnCl2 (2) is formed, with the tin atom displaying an oxidation state of +4. Tin(II) chloride dihydrate, SnCl2 ×2(H2 O), also reduces dpp-mian, but the two ligands bound to tin in the product form a new carbon-carbon bond between the ketone moieties of the dpp-mian monoanions to form complex (bis-dpp-mian)HSnCl3 (3). Metallic tin reduces dpp-mian to form the (bis-dpp-mian)2 Sn (4) species. Compounds 1-4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction.

Rydberg state mediated multiphoton ionization of (η7-C7H7)(η5-C5H5)Cr: DFT-supported experimental insights into the molecular and electronic structures of excited sandwich complexes.

The resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of a mixed sandwich complex has been achieved for the first time when exciting (η7-C7H7)(η5-C5H5)Cr via the Rydberg 4pz state. The REMPI spectrum is indicative of unexpectedly small changes of the sandwich geometry on excitation. Time-dependent DFT calculations reveal fine effects of the ligand nature on the molecular and electronic structure variations accompanying electronic excitation. Different trends are predicted for the sandwich geometry transformations in the mixed sandwich complex and its symmetric isomer, (η6-C6H6)2Cr, both on Rydberg excitation and ionization.

TD DFT insights into unusual properties of excited sandwich complexes: structural transformations and vibronic interactions in Rydberg-state bis(η6-benzene)chromium.

Sandwich compounds represent the only class of organometallics revealing vibronic structures of Rydberg transitions in their gas-phase absorption and ionization spectra. This provides rare possibilities of verifying computational results for Rydberg-state metal complexes by comparison with experimental spectroscopic data. In this work, the lowest Ryberg p state of bis(η6-benzene)chromium (1) corresponding to the 3dz2→ R4px,y transition has been modeled for the first time by TD DFT. The calculations were found to be able not only to estimate the energy of the Rydberg excitation in the 1 molecule but also to simulate its vibronic structure on the basis of the Rydberg-state optimized geometries and vibrational frequencies. The structural transformations caused by the Jahn-Teller effect in the excited 1 molecule appear to differ strongly from those in the degenerate-state benzene ion, cobaltocene or other metal-benzene complexes. The in-plane CH bending mode provides the main contribution to the JT distortion of the 1 excited-state D6h structure resulting in splitting of the R4px,y state into the R4px and R4py components belonging to the D2h point group. The calculations predict, however, a fluxional 1 behavior described by the D6h symmetry. Nevertheless, the JT effect leads to additional allowed vibronic components of the 3dz2→ R4px,y transition which is clearly revealed by the TD DFT simulation. The computational results correlate surprisingly well with the known experimental spectroscopic data and provide new insights into vibronic interactions in the Rydberg-state sandwich molecules.

DFT-Supported Threshold Ionization Study of Chromium Biphenyl Complexes: Unveiling the Mechanisms of Substituent Influence on Redox Properties of Sandwich Compounds.

High-resolution mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectra of (η6 -Ph2 )2 Cr and (η6 -Ph2 )(η6 -PhMe)Cr demonstrate that the Ph groups work as electron donors, decreasing the ionization energy of the gas-phase bisarene complexes. In contrast to electrochemical data, a close similarity of the Ph and Me group effects on the oxidation of free sandwich molecules has been revealed. However, DFT calculations testify for the opposite shifts of the electron density caused by the Me and Ph substituents in the neutral complexes, the latter behaving as an electron-accepting fragment. On the contrary, in the bisarene cations, the Ph group becomes a stronger donor than methyl. This change provides the similar substituent effects observed with the MATI experiment. On the other hand, the well-documented opposite influence of the Me and Ph fragments on the redox potential of the (η6 -arene)2 Cr+/0 couple in solution appears to be a result of solvation effects but not intramolecular interactions as shown for the first time in this work.

The Weakly Coordinating Tris(trichlorosilyl)silyl Anion.

Closely following the procedure for the preparation of the base-stabilized dichlorosilylene complex NHCDipp ⋅SiCl2 reported by Roesky, Stalke, and co-workers (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 5683-5686), a few crystals of the salt [NHCDipp -H⋅⋅⋅Cl⋅⋅⋅H-NHCDipp ]Si(SiCl3 )3 were isolated, aside from the reported byproduct [NHCDipp -H+ ⋅⋅⋅Cl- ], and characterized by X-ray crystallography (NHCDipp =N,N-di(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazo-2-ylidene). They contain the weakly coordinating anion Si(SiCl3 )3- , which was also obtained in high yields upon deprotonation of the conjugate Brønsted acid HSi(SiCl3 )3 with NHCDipp or PMP (PMP=1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine). The acidity of HSi(SiCl3 )3 was estimated by DFT calculations to be substantially higher than those of other H-silanes. Further DFT studies on the electronic structure of Si(SiCl3 )3- , including the electrostatic potential and the electron localizability, confirmed its low basicity and nucleophilicity compared with other silyl anions.

Fine Substituent Effects in Sandwich Complexes: A Threshold Ionization Study of Monosubstituted Chromium Bisarene Compounds.

Mass-analyzed threshold ionization spectra of jet-cooled [(η(6) -PhMe)(η(6) -PhH)Cr] and [(η(6) -Ph2 )(η(6) -PhH)Cr] reveal with unprecedented accuracy the effects of methyl and phenyl groups on the electronic structure of bis(η(6) -benzene)chromium. These "pure" substituent effects allow quantitative experimental determination of the ionization energy changes caused by the mutual substituent influence in bisarene systems. Two types of such influence have been revealed for the first time in bis(η(6) -toluene)chromium.