Characterization of a Ferryl Flip in Electronically Tuned Nonheme Complexes. Consequences in Hydrogen Atom Transfer Reactivity

Two oxoiron(IV) isomers (^R 2a and ^R 2b) of general formula [Fe^IV (O)(^R PyNMe₃ )(CH₃ CN)]²⁺ are obtained by reaction of their iron(II) precursor with NBu₄ IO₄ . The two isomers differ in the position of the oxo ligand, cis and trans to the pyridine donor. The mechanism of isomerization between ^R 2a and ^R 2b has been determined by kinetic and computational analyses uncovering an unprecedented path for interconversion of geometrical oxoiron(IV) isomers. The activity of the two oxoiron(IV) isomers in hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions shows that ^R 2a reacts one order of magnitude faster than ^R 2b, which is explained by a repulsive noncovalent interaction between the ligand and the substrate in ^R 2b. Interestingly, the electronic properties of the R substituent in the ligand pyridine ring do not have a significant effect on reaction rates. Overall, the intrinsic structural aspects of each isomer define their relative HAT reactivity, overcoming changes in electronic properties of the ligand.

Cationic Gold(II) Complexes: Experimental and Theoretical Study

Gold(II) complexes are rare, and their application to the catalysis of chemical transformations is underexplored. The reason is their easy oxidation or reduction to more stable gold(III) or gold(I) complexes, respectively. We explored the thermodynamics of the formation of [Au^II (L)(X)]⁺ complexes (L=ligand, X=halogen) from the corresponding gold(III) precursors and investigated their stability and spectral properties in the IR and visible range in the gas phase. The results show that the best ancillary ligands L for stabilizing gaseous [Au^II (L)(X)]⁺ complexes are bidentate and tridentate ligands with nitrogen donor atoms. The electronic structure and spectral properties of the investigated gold(II) complexes were correlated with quantum chemical calculations. The results show that the molecular and electronic structure of the gold(II) complexes as well as their spectroscopic properties are very similar to those of analogous stable copper(II) complexes.

Role of "S" Substitution on C-H Activation Reactivity of Iron(IV)-Oxo Cyclam Complexes: a Computational Investigation

A comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) investigation has been presented in this article to address the role of equatorial sulfur ligation in C-H activation. A non-heme iron-oxo compound with four nitrogen atoms constituting the equatorially connected macrocyclic framework (represented as N₄) [Fe(IV)═O(THC)(CH₃CN)]²⁺(THC = 1,4,8,11-tetrahydro1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) has been considered as the base compound. Other complexes have been anticipated by the sequential replacement of this nitrogen by sulfur, that is, N₄, N₃S₁, N₂S₂, N₁S₃, and S₄. Counterions, as always, have been considered to avoid the self-interaction error in DFT. Generally, the anti-conformers (with respect to equatorial N-H and Fe═O) turned out to be the most stable. It was found that with the enrichment of the equatorial sulfur atom, reactivity increases successively, that is, we get the trend N₄ < N₃S₁ < N₂S₂ < N₁S₃ < S_4. Our investigations have also verified the available experimental results where it has been reported that N₂S₂ is more reactive than N₄ in their mixed conformation. In search of insights into this typical pattern of reactivity, the interplay of several factors has been recognized, such as the distortion energy which decreases for the transition states with the addition of sulfur; the spin density on the oxygen atom which increases implying that the radical character of abstractor increases on sulfur ligation; the energy of the electron acceptor orbital (the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (σ_z²*)) which decreases continuously with the sulfur substitution; and the triplet-quintet oxidant energy gap which decreases consistently with S enrichment in the equatorial position. The computational predictions reported here, if further validated by experiments, will definitely encourage the synthesis of sulfur-ligated bio-inspired complexes instead of the ones constituting nitrogen exclusively.