Symmetry and bonding in metalloporphyrins. A modern implementation for the bonding analyses of five- and six-coordinate high-spin iron(III)-porphyrin complexes through density functional calculation and NMR spectroscopy

1H NMR Investigation of High-Spin and Low-Spin Iron(III) meso-Ethynylporphyrins

The 1H NMR spectra of iron(III) 5-ethynyl-10,15,20-tri(p-tolyl)porphyrin [(ETrTP)Fe(III)X(n)], iron(III) 5-(phenylethynyl)-10,15,20-tri(p-tolyl)porphyrin [(PETrTP)Fe(III)X(n)], iron(III) 5-(phenylbutadiynyl)-10,15,20-tri(p-tolyl)porphyrin [(PBTrTP)Fe(III)X(n)], iron(III) 5,10,15,20-tetra(phenylethynyl)porphyrin [(TPEP)Fe(III)X(n)], iron(III) 1,4-bis-[10,15,20-tri(p-tolyl)porphyrin-5-yl]-1,3-butadiyne {[(TrTP)Fe(III)X(n)]2 B}, and 5,10,15-triphenylporphyrin [(TrPP)Fe(III)X(n)] have been studied to elucidate the impact of meso-ethynyl substitution on the electronic structure and spin density distribution of high-spin (X = Cl-, n = 1) and low-spin (X = CN-, n = 2) derivatives. The meso substituents, i.e., ethynyl, phenylethynyl, and phenylbutadiynyl, provided insight into the efficiency of spin density delocalization along structural elements that are typically applied to transmit electronic effects along multipart polyporphyrinic systems. The positive spin density localized at the meso-carbon of high-spin iron(III) ethynylporphyrins is effectively delocalized along the ethyne or butadiyne fragment as illustrated by the comparison of isotropic shifts of C(meso)-H and -CC-H determined for (TrPP)Fe(III)Cl (-82.6 ppm, 293 K) and (ETrTP)Fe(III)Cl (-49.5 ppm, 298 K). The replacement of the ethynyl hydrogen by phenyl or phenylethynyl provided evidence for the pi spin density distribution around the introduced phenyl ring. An analysis of the isotropic shifts for the low-spin bis-cyanide iron(III) porphyrins series reveals the analogous mechanism of spin density transfer. Treatment of high-spin [(TrTP)Fe(III)Cl]2 B with a base resulted in formation of the cyclic [(TrTP)Fe(III)OFe(III)(TrTP)B]2 complex linked by two mu-oxo bridges. (TPEP)H2 has been characterized by X-ray crystallography as a porphyrin dication where two molecules of trifluoroacetic acid associate with two coordinated trifluoroacetate anions. The X-ray structure of bis-tetrahydrofuran 1,4-bis[10,15,20-tri(p-tolyl)porphyrinatozinc(II)-5-yl]-1,3-butadiyne complex {[(TrTP)Zn(II)(THF)]2 B} reveals two parallel, non-coplanar [(TrTP)Zn(THF)] subunits linked by the linear butadiyne moiety.

Proton as the Simplest of All Catalysts for [2 + 2] Cycloadditions: DFT Study of Acid-Catalyzed Imine Metathesis

The mechanism of imine metathesis was studied as a prototype reaction for the impact that heteroatom substitution has on thermally forbidden [2 + 2] addition reactions using high-level density functional theory in combination with a continuum solvation model. The intuitively expected high activation barriers were confirmed for N-alkyl- and N-aryl-substituted imine reactants with transition state free energies of 78.8 and 68.5 kcal/mol, respectively, in benzene. The computed reaction energy profiles were analyzed to discover possible strategies for lowering the transition state energy. Protonation of the imine nitrogen was proposed as a possible catalytic route and was explicitly modeled. The computed reaction energy profile shows that protonation of one of the imine reactants has an enormous effect on the overall rate of metathesis and lowers the activation barrier by as much as 37.3 and 30.6 kcal/mol for the N-alkyl and N-aryl reactants, respectively. These results suggest that acid-catalyzed imine metathesis should be amenable at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the protonation of both reactants of the metathesis reaction is predicted to be not productive owing to electrostatic repulsion of the reactants, thus suggesting that there should be an optimum pH for the catalytic turnover. A detailed analysis of the catalytic mechanism is presented, and the primary driving force for the catalysis is identified. Upon protonation of the imine nitrogen, the key [2 + 2]-addition step becomes asynchronous and one of the two intermolecular N-C bonds is formed before traversing the transition state, resulting in a substantial net decrease of the overall energy requirement. The general applicability of this intuitively understandable mechanism for designing structural features for lowering the energy of transition state structures is explored.

Remarkable paramagnetically shifted (1)H and (2)H NMR spectra of iron(II) complexes of 2-aza-21-carbaporphyrin: an evidence for agostic interaction

Iron(II) 2-aza-21-carbaporphyrins have been characterized by paramagnetically shifted (1)H and (2)H NMR spectra. The high-spin iron(II) complex (HCTPPH)Fe(II)Br displays the beta-H resonances which reflect the combination sigma and pi routes of spin density delocalization. The uniquely large isotropic shift of the inner H(21) hydrogen (812 ppm, 298 K) indicates an Fe(II)-[C(21)-H] agostic interaction.

Oxidation and Oxygenation of Iron Complexes of 2-Aza-21-carbaporphyrin

Oxidation and oxygenation of (HCTPPH)Fe(II)Br an iron(II) complex of 2-aza-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21-carbaporphyrin (CTPPH)H2 have been followed by 1H and 2H NMR spectroscopy. Addition of I2 or Br2 to the solution of (HCTPPH)Fe(II)Br in the absence of dioxygen results in one-electron oxidation yielding [(HCTPPH)Fe(III)Br]+. One electron oxidation with dioxygen, accompanied by deprotonation of a C(21)H fragment and formation of an Fe-C(21) bond, produces an intermediate-spin, five-coordinate iron(III) complex (HCTPP)Fe(III)Br. In the subsequent step an insertion of the oxygen atom into the preformed Fe(III)-C(21) bond has been detected to produce [(CTPPO)Fe(III)Br]-. Protonation at the N2 atom affords (HCTPPO)Fe(III)Br. The considered mechanism of (HCTPPH)Fe(II)Br oxygenation involves the insertion of dioxygen into the Fe-C bond. The 1H NMR and 2H NMR spectra of paramagnetic iron(III) complexes were examined. Functional group assignments have been made with use of selective deuteration. The characteristic patterns of pyrrole and 2-NH resonances have been found diagnostic of the ground electronic state of iron and the donor nature localized at C(21) center as exemplified by the 1H NMR spectrum of intermediate-spin (HCTPP)Fe(III)Br: beta-H 7.2, -10.6, -19.2, -20.6, -23.2, -24.9, -43.2; 2-NH -76.6 (ppm, 298 K). The structures of two compounds (HCTPP)Fe(III)Br and (HCTPPO)Fe(III)Br, were determined by X-ray diffraction studies. In the first case, the iron(III) is five-coordinate with bonds to three pyrrole nitrogen atoms (Fe-N distances: 1.985(8), 2.045(7), 2.023(8) A), and the pyrrolic trigonal carbon (Fe-C: 1.981(8) A). The iron(III) of (HCTPPO)Fe(III)Br forms bonds to three pyrrole nitrogen atoms (Fe-N distances 2.104(5), 2.046(5), 2.102(5) A). The Fe-O 2.041(5) A and Fe-C(21) 2.192(5) A distances suggests a direct interaction between the iron center and the pi electron density on the carbonyl group in a eta2 fashion.