Synthesis and metal-complexing ability of m-xylylenebis(β-diketones)

Mononucleating bis(beta-diketonate) ligands and their titanium(IV) complexes

Novel bis(beta-diketones) linked by 2,2'-biphenyldiyl, 2,2'-tolandiyl, and 2,2'-bis(methylene)biphenyl moieties have been prepared. All are metalated readily by titanium(IV) isopropoxide, but the nature of the complexes formed depends on the linker structure. The biphenyl-bridged ligand gives only traces of a mononuclear complex, which is thermodynamically unstable with respect to oligomerization. The tolan-bridged ligand does form mononuclear complexes, but only as a mixture of geometric isomers. In contrast, the substituted 2,2'-bis-(2,4-dioxobutyl)biphenyl ligands, R2BobH2 (R = tBu, p-Tol), react with Ti(OiPr)4 to give, initially, a mixture of monomer and oligomers, which is converted quantitatively to monomer upon heating in the presence of excess Ti(OiPr)4. Only a single relative configuration of the biphenyl and bis(chelate) titanium moieties, established by crystallography of (tBu2Bob)Ti(O-2,6-iPr2C6H3)2 to be the (R)-/(S)- diastereomer, is observed. The kinetic and thermodynamic robustness of the (R2Bob)Ti framework is confirmed by reactions with Lewis acids. For example, (Tol2Bob)Ti(OiPr)2 reacts with trimethylsilyl triflate or triflic acid to substitute one or both of the isopropoxide groups with triflates without any redistribution or loss of the diketonate ligands. Cationic complexes can be prepared by abstraction of triflate from (Tol2Bob)Ti(OiPr)(OTf) with Na[B(C6H3(CF3)2)4]. For example, in the presence of diethyl ether, the crystallographically characterized [(Tol2Bob)Ti(OiPr)(OEt2)][B(C6H3(CF3)2)4], containing a rapidly dissociating ether ligand, is formed.

A chelating beta-diketonate/phenoxide ligand and its coordination behavior toward titanium and scandium

Dibenzoylmethane derivatives with one (L1H2) or both (L2H3, L3H3) benzenes linked at their ortho positions to 4,6-di-tert-butylphenol moieties by two-carbon linkers have been synthesized. The mono-beta-diketone-monophenol ligand L1H2 is metalated by titanium alkoxides to form the homoleptic complex (L1)2Ti and heteroleptic complexes (L1)Ti([OCH2CH2]2NR) (R = H, CH3), and reacts with Cp3Sc to form CpSc(L1). These are the first examples of complexes of a beta-diketonate ligand which is further chelating to a single metal center. Crystallographic analysis of (L1)2Ti indicates that the 10-membered ring allows chelation of the phenoxide with little strain, and both fac and mer geometries are accessible in solution. Protonolysis of the second cyclopentadienyl ring of Cp3Sc appears to take place by an indirect, Cp3Sc-catalyzed pathway.

New discrete and polymeric supramolecular architectures derived from dinuclear (bis-β-diketonato)copper(ii) metallocycles

New examples of adducts between di- (and, in one instance, tetra-) functional nitrogen ligands and planar 'platform-like' dinuclear copper(II) complexes, [Cu2L2], incorporating the 1,3-aryl linked bis-beta-diketonato bridging ligand 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene)-bis(4,4-dimethylpentane-1,3-dione) (H2L) have been synthesised. The X-ray structures of six adduct species are reported. The interaction of [Cu2(L)2] with the ditopic ligand aminopyrazine (apyz) yielded the sandwich-like tetranuclear species [(Cu2L2(apyz))2]. A variable-temperature magnetochemical investigation of this product indicated weak antiferromagnetic coupling between the (five-coordinate) copper centres, mediated by the 2-aminopyrazine linkers. An analogous structure, [(Cu2L2(dabco))2] (dabco=1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane), was generated when dabco was substituted for aminopyrazine while use of 4,4'-dipyridyl sulfide (dps) and 4,4'-(1,3-xylylene)-bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazole) (xbp) as the ditopic 'spacer' ligands resulted in polymeric species of type [Cu2L2(dps)]n and [Cu2L2(xbp)]n, respectively. These latter species exist as one-dimensional chain structures in which copper(II) centres on different dinuclear platforms are linked in a 'zigzag' fashion. In contrast, with 2,2'-dipyridylamine (dpa) a discrete complex of type [Cu2L2(dpa)2] formed in which one potential pyridyl donor from each 2,2'-dipyridylamine ligand remains uncoordinated. The use of the potentially quadruply-bridging hexamethylenetetramine (hmt) ligand as the linker unit was found to give rise to an unusual two-dimensional polymeric motif of type [(Cu2(L2)2)3(hmt)2]n. The product takes the form of a (6,3) network, incorporating triply bridging hexamethylenetetramine units.

Flexible cofacial binuclear metal complexes derived from α,α-bis(salicylimino)-m-xylene

The tetradentate Schiff-base ligand SIXH2 (alpha,alpha-bis(salicylimino)-m-xylene), prepared from salicylaldehyde and m-xylylenediamine, forms cofacial binuclear complexes with Pd and Cu. Of the two isomers possible (trans-syn and trans-anti) for M2(SIX)2, these complexes crystallize exclusively as the trans-anti isomer. In ansolvous Pd2(SIX)2, the metal-containing planes are approximately parallel, with PdPd 4.416(1) A. Pd2(SIX)2 also forms a crystalline solvate, in which the molecules adopt a more open conformation with longer metal-metal distances (5.109(1) and 5.112(1) A). The M...M distance is significantly longer in Cu2(SIX)2 (6.653(1) A), because of conformational changes in the m-xylylene moieties and substantial tetrahedral distortion about Cu.

A New Binucleating Ligand Based on Anthracene and Its Cofacial Dirhodium(I) and Diiridium(I) Complexes

A new bis(beta-keto enamine) ligand (2a, ABIH(2)) containing a 1,8-anthracenediyl bridging group has been synthesized by a four-step procedure that relies on the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling between (3,5-dimethylisoxazol-4-yl)trialkyltin and 1,8-dibromoanthraquinone or -anthracene. The molecular structures of the 1,8-bis(3,5-dimethylisoxazol-4-yl)anthraquinone (8) and -anthracene (10) intermediates were determined by X-ray analysis. Crystal data for 8: orthorhombic, space group Pbca; a = 14.351 (2), b = 11.932 (1), c = 23.278 (2) Å; V = 3986 (1) Å(3); Z = 8; R = 0.057 for 2615 reflections. Crystal data for 10: orthorhombic, space group P2(1)2(1)2(1); a = 7.104 (1), b = 12.805 (1), c = 22.280 (2) Å; V = 2026.7 (6) Å(3); Z = 4; R = 0.066 for 3423 reflections. The rigid ABIH(2) ligand, whose chelating moieties are constrained to be cofacial, allows the preparation of a new family of cofacial bimetallic complexes (ABI)[ML(2)](2) with controllable environments around the metal centers. Two novel cofacial binuclear complexes 4 and 5, with ML(2) = dicarbonylrhodium(I) and (eta(4)-1,5-cyclooctadiene)iridium(I), have been synthesized by reaction of ABIH(2) with [(&mgr;-Cl)Rh(CO)(2)](2) and [(&mgr;-Cl)Ir(COD)](2), respectively. NMR data indicate the formation of meso and racemic atropisomers for 2a, 4, and 5.