NO Coupling by Nonclassical Dinuclear Dinitrosyliron Complexes to Form N2O Dictated by Hemilability.

ABSTRACT

Selective coupling of NO by a nonclassical dinuclear dinitrosyliron complex (D-DNIC) to form N2O is reported. The coupling is facilitated by the pyridinediimine (PDI) ligand scaffold, which enables the necessary denticity changes to produce mixed-valent, electron-deficient tethered DNICs. One-electron oxidation of the [{Fe(NO)2}]210/10 complex Fe2(PyrrPDI)(NO)4 (4) results in NO coupling to form N2O via the mixed-valent {[Fe(NO)2]2}9/10 species, which possesses an electron-deficient four-coordinate {Fe(NO)2}10 site, crucial in N-N bond formation. The hemilability of the PDI scaffold dictates the selectivity in N-N bond formation because stabilization of the five-coordinate {Fe(NO)2}9 site in the mixed-valent [{Fe(NO)2}]29/10 species, [Fe2(Pyr2PDI)(NO)4][PF6] (6), does not result in an electron-deficient, four-coordinate {Fe(NO)2}10 site, and hence no N-N coupling is observed.