Remote Ligand Modifications Tune Electronic Distribution and Reactivity in Site-Differentiated, High-Spin Iron Clusters: Flipping Scaling Relationships

Highly Activated Terminal Carbon Monoxide Ligand in an Iron-Sulfur Cluster Model of FeMco with Intermediate Local Spin State at Fe

Nitrogenases, the enzymes that convert N2 to NH3, also catalyze the reductive coupling of CO to yield hydrocarbons. CO-coordinated species of nitrogenase clusters have been isolated and used to infer mechanistic information. However, synthetic FeS clusters displaying CO ligands remain rare, which limits benchmarking. Starting from a synthetic cluster that models a cubane portion of the FeMo cofactor (FeMoco), including a bridging carbyne ligand, we report a heterometallic tungsten-iron-sulfur cluster with a single terminal CO coordination in two oxidation states with a high level of CO activation (νCO = 1851 and 1751 cm-1). The local Fe coordination environment (2S, 1C, 1CO) is identical to that in the protein making this system a suitable benchmark. Computational studies find an unusual intermediate spin electronic configuration at the Fe sites promoted by the presence the carbyne ligand. This electronic feature is partly responsible for the high degree of CO activation in the reduced cluster.

Uncovering a CF3 Effect on X-ray Absorption Energies of [Cu(CF3 )4 ]- and Related Copper Compounds by Using Resonant Diffraction Anomalous Fine Structure (DAFS) Measurements

Understanding the electronic structures of high-valent metal complexes aids the advancement of metal-catalyzed cross coupling methodologies. A prototypical complex with formally high valency is [Cu(CF3 )4 ]- (1), which has a formal Cu(III) oxidation state but whose physical analysis has led some to a Cu(I) assignment in an inverted ligand field model. Recent examinations of 1 by X-ray spectroscopies have led previous authors to contradictory conclusions, motivating the re-examination of its X-ray absorption profile here by a complementary method, resonant diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS). From analysis of DAFS measurements for a series of seven mononuclear Cu complexes including 1, here it is shown that there is a systematic trifluoromethyl effect on X-ray absorption that blue shifts the resonant Cu K-edge energy by 2-3 eV per CF3 , completely accounting for observed changes in DAFS profiles between formally Cu(III) complexes like 1 and formally Cu(I) complexes like (Ph3 P)3 CuCF3 (3). Thus, in agreement with the inverted ligand field model, the data presented herein imply that 1 is best described as containing a Cu(I) ion with dn count approaching 10.

Metal Site-Specific Electrostatic Field Effects on a Tricopper(I) Cluster Probed by Resonant Diffraction Anomalous Fine Structure (DAFS)

Studies of multinuclear metal complexes are greatly enhanced by resonant diffraction measurements, which probe X-ray absorption profiles of crystallographically independent metal sites within a cluster. In particular, X-ray diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS) analysis provides data that can be interpreted akin to site-specific XANES, allowing for differences in metal K-edge resonances to be deconvoluted even for different metal sites within a homometallic system. Despite the prevalence of Cu-containing clusters in biology and energy science, DAFS has yet to be used to analyze multicopper complexes of any type until now. Here, we report an evaluation of trends using a series of strategically chosen Cu(I) and Cu(II) complexes to determine how energy dependencies of anomalous scattering factors are impacted by coordination geometry, ligand shell, cluster nuclearity, and oxidation state. This calibration data is used to analyze a formally tricopper(I) complex that was found by DAFS to be site-differentiated due to the unsymmetrical influence on different Cu sites of the electrostatic field from a proximal K+ cation.

Incorporation of Cation Affects the Redox Reactivity of Fe-NNN Complexes on C-H Oxidation

Cations such as Lewis acids have been shown to enhance the catalytic activity of high-valent Fe-oxygen intermediates. Herein, we present a pyridine diamine ethylene glycol macrocycle, which can form Zn(II)- or Fe(III)-complex with the NNN site, while allowing redox-inactive cations to bind to the ethylene glycol moiety. The addition of alkali, alkali earth, and lanthanum ions resulted in positive shifts to the Fe(III/II) redox potential. Calculation of dissociation constants showed the tightest binding with a Ba²⁺ ion. Density functional theory calculations were used to elucidate the effects of redox inactive cations toward the electronic structures of Fe complexes. Although the Fe-NNN complexes, both in the absence and presence of cations, can catalyze C-H oxidation of 9,10-dihydroanthracene, to give anthracene [hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) product], anthrone, and anthraquinone [oxygen atom transfer (OAT) products], highest overall activity and OAT/HAT product ratios were obtained in the presence of dications, that is, Ba²⁺ and Mg²⁺, respectively.

Revealing redox isomerism in trichromium imides by anomalous diffraction

In polynuclear biological active sites, multiple electrons are needed for turnover, and the distribution of these electrons among the metal sites is affected by the structure of the active site. However, the study of the interplay between structure and redox distribution is difficult not only in biological systems but also in synthetic polynuclear clusters since most redox changes produce only one thermodynamically stable product. Here, the unusual chemistry of a sterically hindered trichromium complex allowed us to probe the relationship between structural and redox isomerism. Two structurally isomeric trichromium imides were isolated: asymmetric terminal imide (^tbsL)Cr₃(NDipp) and symmetric, μ³-bridging imide (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³–NBn) ((^tbsL)⁶⁻ = (1,3,5-C₆H₉(NC₆H₄-o-NSi^tBuMe₂)₃)⁶⁻). Along with the homovalent isocyanide adduct (^tbsL)Cr₃(CNBn) and the bisimide (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³–NPh)(NPh), both imide isomers were examined by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) to determine the redox load distribution by the free refinement of atomic scattering factors. Despite their compositional similarities, the bridging imide shows uniform oxidation of all three Cr sites while the terminal imide shows oxidation at only two Cr sites. Further oxidation from the bridging imide to the bisimide is only borne at the Cr site bound to the second, terminal imido fragment. Thus, depending on the structural motifs present in each [Cr₃] complex, MAD revealed complete localization of oxidation, partial localization, and complete delocalization, all supported by the same hexadentate ligand scaffold.

Application of high-resolution Multiwavelength Anomalous Diffraction (MAD) allows the assignment of localized, partly delocalized, and fully delocalized oxidation in a series of trichromium imide isomers.

Partial synthetic models of FeMoco with sulfide and carbyne ligands: Effect of interstitial atom in nitrogenase active site

Nitrogen-fixing organisms perform dinitrogen reduction to ammonia at an Fe-M (M = Mo, Fe, or V) cofactor (FeMco) of nitrogenase. FeMco displays eight metal centers bridged by sulfides and a carbide having the MFe₇S₈C cluster composition. The role of the carbide ligand, a unique motif in protein active sites, remains poorly understood. Toward addressing how the carbon bridge affects the physical and chemical properties of the cluster, we isolated synthetic models of subsite MFe₃S₃C displaying sulfides and a chelating carbyne ligand. We developed synthetic protocols for structurally related clusters, [Tp*M'Fe₃S₃X]^n-, where M' = Mo or W, the bridging ligand X = CR, N, NR, S, and Tp* = Tris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)hydroborate, to study the effects of the identity of the heterometal and the bridging X group on structure and electrochemistry. While the nature of M' results in minor changes, the chelating, μ₃-bridging carbyne has a large impact on reduction potentials, being up to 1 V more reducing compared to nonchelating N and S analogs.

Single-Step Sulfur Insertions into Iron Carbide Carbonyl Clusters: Unlocking the Synthetic Door to FeMoco Analogues

The one-step syntheses, X-ray structures, and spectroscopic characterization of synthetic iron clusters, bearing either inorganic sulfides or thiolate with interstitial carbide motifs, are reported. Treatment of iron carbide carbonyl clusters [Fe_n (μ_n -C)(CO)_m ]^x (n=5,6; m=15,16; x=0,-2) with electrophilic sulfur sources (S₂ Cl₂ , S₈ ) results in the formation of several μ₄ -S dimers of clusters, and moreover, iron-sulfide-(sulfocarbide) clusters. The core sulfocarbide unit {C-S}^4- serves as a structural model for a proposed intermediate in the radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine biogenesis of the M-cluster. Furthermore, the electrophilic sulfur strategy has been extended to provide the first ever thiolato-iron-carbide complex: an analogous reaction with toluylsulfenyl chloride affords the cluster [Fe₅ (μ₅ -C)(SC₇ H₇ )(CO)₁₃ ]^- . The strategy described herein provides a breakthrough towards developing syntheses of biomimetic iron-sulfur-carbide clusters like FeMoco.

Construction of Synthetic Models for Nitrogenase-Relevant NifB Biogenesis Intermediates and Iron-Carbide-Sulfide Clusters

The family of nitrogenase enzymes catalyzes the reduction of atmospheric dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia under remarkably benign conditions of temperature, pressure, and pH. Therefore, the development of synthetic complexes or materials that can similarly perform this reaction is of critical interest. The primary obstacle for obtaining realistic synthetic models of the active site iron-sulfur-carbide cluster (e.g., FeMoco) is the incorporation of a truly inorganic carbide. This review summarizes the present state of knowledge regarding biological and chemical (synthetic) incorporation of carbide into iron-sulfur clusters. This includes the Nif cluster of proteins and associated biochemistry involved in the endogenous biogenesis of FeMoco. We focus on the chemical (synthetic) incorporation portion of our own efforts to incorporate and modify C1 units in iron/sulfur clusters. We also highlight recent contributions from other research groups in the area toward C1 and/or inorganic carbide insertion.