Understanding the Multiconfigurational Ground and Excited States in Lanthanide Tetrakis Bipyridine Complexes from Experimental and CASSCF Computational Studies.

An alternative synthesis for M(κ2-bipy)4 (M = La, Ce) and [Li(thf)4][M(κ2-bipy)4] (M = Tb, Dy) and the crystal structures for M = La, Ce, and Tb are described. The isomorphous and isostructural neutral molecules, M = La and Ce, are polymeric in the solid-state, as are those of M = Sm and Eu, which were reported in earlier work. The polymeric network is built from eight coordinate units whose geometry in all four cases is that of a square prism. The known molecules, M = Yb and Lu, are also polymeric, but the eight coordinate units have dodecahedral geometries. The structure of the anions in the separated ion pair, [Li(thf)4][M(κ2-bipy)4], in which Tb is reported in this work and Lu is known, are monomeric with geometries that are between that of a square antiprism and a dodecahdron. The electronic structure, from CASSCF multireference quantum mechanical calculations, shows that the electronic ground states for M = La and Lu are multiconfigurational spin doublets and those for the M = Ce and Yb are multiconfigurational spin triplets. This is confirmed by magnetic susceptibility studies as a function of temperature that are consistent with the metals (La, Ce, Sm, Tb, Dy, Yb, and Lu) being trivalent, as are the LIII-edge XANES spectra (Ce, Yb), and divalent for Eu. The multiconfigurational nature of the ground states, developed from CASSCF molecular orbital calculations, renders a single Lewis structure and a single reference molecular orbital representation misleading. The results from the multireference calculations are extended to the other lanthanide molecules and are the genesis of a new model for understanding the magnetic properties of these molecules.

Structurally characterized terminal manganese(iv) oxo tris(alkoxide) complex.

A Mn(iv) complex featuring a terminal oxo ligand, [MnIV(O)(ditox)3][K(15-C-5)2] (3; ditox = t Bu2MeCO-, 15-C-5 = 15-crown-5-ether) has been isolated and structurally characterized. Treatment of the colorless precursor [MnII(ditox)3][K(15-C-5)2] (2) with iodosobenzene affords 3 as a green free-flowing powder in high yields. The X-ray crystal structure of 3 reveals a pseudotetrahedral geometry about the central Mn, which features a terminal oxo (d(Mn-Oterm = 1.628(2) Å)). EPR spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, and Evans method magnetic susceptibility indicate that 3 consists of a high-spin S = 3/2 Mn(iv) metal center. 3 promotes C-H bond activation by a hydrogen atom abstraction. The [MnIV(O)(ditox)3]- furnishes a model for the proposed terminal oxo of the unique manganese of the oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II.

Cerium Tetrakis(tropolonate) and Cerium Tetrakis(acetylacetonate) Are Not Diamagnetic but Temperature-Independent Paramagnets.

A new synthesis of cerium tetrakis(tropolonate), Ce(trop)4, where trop is deprotonated 2-hydroxy-2,4,6-cycloheptatrienone) or Ce(O2C7H5)4, is developed that results in dark-purple crystals whose X-ray crystal structure shows that the geometry of the eight-coordinate compound closely resembles a D2 d dodecahedron, based on shape parameters. The magnetic susceptibility as a function of the temperature (4-300 K) shows that it is a temperature-independent paramagnet, χ = 1.2(3) × 10-4 emu/mol, and the LIII-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectrum shows that the molecule is multiconfigurational, comprised of a f1:f0 configuration mixture in a 50:50 ratio. Ce(acac)4 and Ce(tmtaa)2 (where acac is acetylacetonate and tmtaaH2 is tetramethyldibenzotetraaza[14]annulene) have similar physical properties, as does the solid-state compound CeO2. The concept is advanced that trop-, acac-, tmtaa2-, cot2-, and O2- are redox-active ligands that function as electron donors, rendering the classification of these compounds according to their oxidation numbers misleading because their magnetic susceptibilities, χ, are positive and their effective magnetic moments, µeff, lie in the range of 0.1-0.7 µB at 300 K.

Modulation of Phenol Oxidation in Cofacial Dyads.

The presentation of two phenols on a xanthene backbone is akin to the tyrosine dyad (Y730 and Y731) of ribonucleotide reductase. X-ray crystallography reveals that the two phenol moieties are cofacially disposed at 4.35 Å. Cyclic voltammetry reveals that phenol oxidation is modulated within the dyad, which exhibits a splitting of one-electron waves with the second oxidation of the phenol dyad occurring at larger positive potential than that of a typical phenol. In contrast, a single phenol appended to a xanthene exhibits a two-electron process, consistent with reported oxidation pathways of phenols in acetonitrile. The perturbation of the phenol potential by stacking is reminiscent of a similar effect for guanines stacked within DNA base pairs.

Oxygen Reduction Mechanism of Monometallic Rhodium Hydride Complexes.

The reduction of O2 to H2O mediated by a series of electronically varied rhodium hydride complexes of the form cis,trans-Rh(III)Cl2H(CNAd)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (2) (CNAd = 1-adamantylisocyanide; X = F (2a), Cl (2b), Me (2c), OMe (2d)) was examined through synthetic and kinetic studies. Rhodium(III) hydride 2 reacts with O2 to afford H2O with concomitant generation of trans-Rh(III)Cl3(CNAd)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (3). Kinetic studies of the reaction of the hydride complex 2 with O2 in the presence of HCl revealed a two-term rate law consistent with an HX reductive elimination (HXRE) mechanism, where O2 binds to a rhodium(I) metal center and generates an η(2)-peroxo complex intermediate, trans-Rh(III)Cl(CNAd)(η(2)-O2)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (4), and a hydrogen-atom abstraction (HAA) mechanism, which entails the direct reaction of O2 with the hydride. Experimental data reveal that the rate of reduction of O2 to H2O is enhanced by electron-withdrawing phosphine ligands. Complex 4 was independently prepared by the addition of O2 to trans-Rh(I)Cl(CNAd)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (1). The reactivity of 4 toward HCl reveals that such peroxo complexes are plausible intermediates in the reduction of O2 to H2O. These results show that the given series of electronically varied rhodium(III) hydride complexes facilitate the reduction of O2 to H2O according to a two-term rate law comprising HXRE and HAA pathways and that the relative rates of these two pathways, which can occur simultaneously and competitively, can be systematically modulated by variation of the electronic properties of the ancillary ligand set.

Photophysical properties of ß-substituted free-base corroles.

Corroles are an emergent class of fluorophores that are finding an application and reaction chemistry to rival their porphyrin analogues. Despite a growing interest in the synthesis, reactivity, and functionalization of these macrocycles, their excited-state chemistry remains undeveloped. A systematic study of the photophysical properties of ß-substituted corroles was performed on a series of free-base ß-brominated derivatives as well as a ß-linked corrole dimer. The singlet and triplet electronic states of these compounds were examined with steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic methods, which are complemented with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations to gain insight into the nature of the electronic structure. Selective bromination of a single molecular edge manifests in a splitting of the Soret band into x and y polarizations, which is a consequence of asymmetry of the molecular axes. A pronounced heavy atom effect is the primary determinant of the photophysical properties of these free-base corroles; bromination decreases the fluorescence quantum yield (from 15% to 0.47%) and lifetime (from 4 ns to 80 ps) by promoting enhanced intersystem crossing, as evidenced by a dramatic increase in knr with bromine substitution. The nonbrominated dimer exhibits absorption and emission features comparable to those of the tetrabrominated derivative, suggesting that oligomerization provides a means of red-shifting the spectral properties akin to bromination but without decreasing the fluorescence quantum yield.

Synthesis and X-ray structure of ruthenium bis(acetylacetonate)(N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine).

Although several ruthenium complexes of the type Ru(acac)(2)(L)(x), where x is 1 for a bidentate or 2 for a monodentate ligand, are known, the tmed complex is conspicuously absent. This article describes the synthesis of this complex from trans-RuCl(2)(tmed)(2), acetylacetone, and triethylamine in toluene. A new synthesis of trans-RuCl(2)(tmed)(2) is also described. Some physical properties and the X-ray crystal structure of Ru(acac)(2)(tmed) are provided.