Separation of scattering and absorption contributions in UV/visible spectra of resonant systems.

Resonance light scattering (RLS) is a phenomenon due to an enhancement of the scattered light in close proximity to an absorption band. The effect is easily detectable in the case of strongly absorbing chromophores, which are able to interact, thus leading to large aggregates (Pasternack, R. F.; Collings, P. J. Science 1995, 269, 935). The measurement of absorption spectra from solutions containing such resonant systems can lead to misleading results. In this paper, a simple method is described to obtain absorption spectra of aggregated species with a fairly good correction of the scattering component. The RLS spectrum, obtained using a common spectrofluorimeter, is correlated to the extinction spectrum of the same sample, allowing for an estimation of the scattering contribution to the total extinction spectrum. The method has been successfully applied both on real samples containing aggregated chromophores, such as porphyrins, chlorophyll a and gold colloids, and by simulating extinction spectra.

Fluxional behavior of the dinitrogen ligand 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline in cationic methyl platinum(II) complexes.

The ionic methylplatinum(II) complexes [Pt(Me)(L)(dmphen)]X (dmphen = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, L = Me(2)SO, X = PF(6)(-) 1a, BF(4)(-) 1b, CF(3)SO(3)(-) 1c, ClO(4)(-) 1d, B(C(6)H(5))(4)(-) 1e, [B(3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3))(4)](-) 1f; L = n-Bu(2)SO, X = CF(3)SO(3)(-) 1g; L = PPh(3), X = PF(6)(-) 2a, BF(4)(-) 2b, CF(3)SO(3)(-) 2c, ClO(4)(-) 2d, B(C(6)H(5))(4)(-) 2e, [B(3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3))(4)](-) 2f; X = CF(3)SO(3)(-), L = CyNH(2) 3a, i-PrNH(2) 3b, 2,6-Me(2)py 3c, EtNH(2) 3d, AsPh(3) 3e, dimethylthiourea (Me(2)th) 3f and the uncharged [Pt(Me)(X)(dmphen)] (X = SCN(-) 4a, SeCN(-) 4b) complexes have been synthesized and fully characterized. In chloroform, as well as in acetone or methanol, complexes 1a-1g, 2a-2h (X = Cl(-) g, NO(2)(-) h, formed "in situ"), and 3e show dynamic behavior due to the oscillation of the symmetric chelating ligand dmphen between nonequivalent bidentate modes. All the other compounds feature a static structure in solution. The crystal structure of 2a shows a tetrahedral distortion of the square planar coordination geometry, a loss of planarity of the dmphen ligand, and, most notably, a rotation of the dmphen moiety, around the N1-N2 vector, to form a dihedral angle of 42.64(8) degrees with the mean coordination plane. The hexafluorophosphate ion lies on the side of the phenanthroline ligand. The interionic structures of 2a, 2b, and 2f were investigated in CDCl(3) at low temperature by (1)H-NOESY and (19)F[(1)H]-HOESY NMR spectroscopies. Whereas PF(6)(-) (2a) and BF(4)(-) (2b) show strong contacts with the cation [Pt(Me)(PPh(3))(dmphen)](+), being located preferentially on the side of the phenanthroline ligand, the [B(3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3))(4)](-) (2f) ion does not form a tight ion pair. The dynamic process was studied by variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy for 1a-1f and 2a-2h in CDCl(3). The activation energies DeltaG(298) for the sulfoxide complexes 1a-1f are lower than those of the corresponding phosphine complexes 2a-2f by approximately 10 kJ mol(-)(1). The nature of the counteranion exerts a tangible influence on the fluxionality of dmphen in both series of complexes 1 and 2. The sequence of energies observed for 2a-2h encompasses an overall difference of about 16 kJ mol(-)(1), increasing in the order Cl(-) approximately NO(2)(-) << CF(3)SO(3)(-) < ClO(4)(-) < B(C(6)H(5))(4)(-) < BF(4)(-) approximately PF(6)(-) < B(3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3))(4)(-). Acetone and methanol have an accelerating effect on the flipping. Concentration-dependent measurements, carried out in CDCl(3) for 2a with n-Bu(4)NPF(6) and the ligands dmphen, n-Bu(2)SO, sec-Bu(2)SO, and sec-Bu(2)S showed that the rate of the fluxional motion is unaffected by added n-Bu(4)NPF(6), whereas in the other cases this increases linearly with increasing ligand concentration, according to a pattern of behavior typical of substitution reactions. Dissociative and associative mechanisms can be envisaged for the observed process of flipping. Dissociation can be prevalent within the ion pair formed by a "noncoordinating" anion with the metallic cationic complex in chloroform. Among the possible associative mechanisms, promoted by polar solvents or by relatively strong nucleophiles, a consecutive displacement mechanism is preferred to intramolecular rearrangements of five-coordinate intermediates.

To what extent can cyclometalation promote associative or dissociative ligand substitution at platinum(II) complexes? A combined kinetic and theoretical approach.

The ligand exchange rate constants for the reactions [Pt(bph)(SR2)2] + 2*SR2 --> [Pt(bph)(*SR2)2] + 2SR2 (bph = 2,2'-biphenyl dianion; R = Me and Et) and cis-[PtPh2(SMe2)2] + 2*SMe2 --> cis-[PtPh2(*SMe2)2] + 2SMe2 have been determined in CDCl3 as a function of ligand concentration and temperature, by 1H NMR isotopic labeling and magnetization transfer experiments. The rates of exchange show no dependence on ligand concentration and the kinetics are characterized by largely positive entropies of activation. The kinetics of displacement of the thioethers from [Pt(bph)(SR2)2] with the dinitrogen ligands 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline (N-N) to yield [Pt(bph)(N-N)], carried out in the presence of sufficient excess of thioether and N-N to ensure pseudo-first-order conditions, follow a nonlinear rate law k(obsd) = a[N-N]/(b[SR2] + [N-N]). The general pattern of behavior indicates that the rate-determining step for substitution is the dissociation of a thioether ligand and the formation of a three-coordinated [Pt(bph)(SR2)] intermediate. The value of the parameter a, which measures the rate of ligand dissociation, is constant and independent of the nature of N-N, and it is in reasonable agreement with the value of the rate of ligand exchange at the same temperature. Theoretical ab initio calculations were performed for both [Pt(bph)(SMe2)2] and cis-[PtPh2(SMe2)2], and for their three-coordinated derivatives upon the loss of one SMe2 ligand. The latter optimize in a T-shaped structure. Calculations were performed in the HF approximation (LANL2DZ basis set) and refined by introducing the correlation terms (Becke3LYP model). The activation enthalpies from the optimized vacuum-phase geometries are 52.3 and 72.2 kJ moll compared to the experimental values in CDCl3 solution, 80 +/- 1 and 93 +/- 1 kJ mol(-1) for [Pt(bph)(SMe2)2] and cis-[PtPh2(SMe2)2], respectively. The electrostatic potential maps of both parent compounds show a remarkable concentration of negative charge over the platinum atom which exerts a repulsion force on an axially incoming nucleophile. On the other hand, the strength of the organic carbanions trans to the leaving group and the stabilization of the T-shaped intermediate in the singlet ground state may also rationalize the preference for the dissociative mechanism. All of the kinetic and theoretical data support the latter hypothesis and indicate, in particular, that dissociation from the complex containing the planar 2,2'-biphenyl dianion is easier than from its analogue with single aryl ligands. Electron back-donation from filled d orbitals of the metal to empty pi* of the in-plane cyclometalated rings is weak or absent and is not operative in promoting an associative mode of activation.