Why does cyanide pretend to be a weak field ligand in [Cr(CN)5]3-?

Nonaqueous Synthesis of Low-Vacancy Chromium Hexacyanochromate

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are a highly tunable family of materials with properties suitable for a wide variety of applications. Although their straightforward aqueous synthesis allows for the facile preparation of a diverse set of compositions, the use of water as the solvent has hindered the preparation of specific compositions with highly sought-after properties. A typical example is Cr[Cr(CN)6]: its predicted strong magnetic interactions have motivated many attempts at its synthesis but with limited success. The lack of control over vacancies, crystallinity, and the oxidation state has prevented the experimental validation of its theoretical magnetic properties. Here, we report the nonaqueous synthesis of vacancy-suppressed, nanocrystalline chromium hexacyanochromate. The control over vacancies and the oxidation state leads to stronger magnetic interactions with a markedly increased absolute Weiss temperature (Θ = -836(6) K) and magnetic ordering temperature of (240 ± 10) K. Our results challenge the notion of the solvent as merely reaction medium and introduce a pathway for exploring moisture- and air-sensitive PBA compositions.

Cation Adaptive Structures Based on Manganese Cyanide Prussian Blue Analogues: Application of Powder Diffraction Data to Solve Complex, Unprecedented Stoichiometries and New Structure Types

A Mn(II) salt and A+ CN- under anaerobic conditions react to form 2-D and 3-D extended structured compounds of Am MnII n (CN)m+2n stoichiometry. Here, the creation and characterization of this large family of compounds, for example AMnII 3 (CN)7 , A2 MnII 3 (CN)8 , A2 MnII 5 (CN)12 , A3 MnII 5 (CN)13 , and A2 MnII [MnII (CN)6 ], where A represents alkali and tetraalkylammonium cations, is reviewed. Cs2 MnII [MnII (CN)6 ] has the typical Prussian blue face centered cubic unit cell. However, the other alkali salts are monoclinic or rhombohedral. This is in accord with smaller alkali cation radii creating void space that is minimized by increasing the van der Waals stabilization energy by reducing ∠Mn-N≡C, which, strengthens the magnetic coupling and increases the magnetic ordering temperatures. This is attributed to the non-rigidity of the framework structure due the significant ionic character associated with the high-spin MnII sites. For larger tetraalkylammonium cations, the high-spin Mn sites lack sufficient electrostatic A+ ⋅⋅⋅NC stabilization and form unexpected 4- and 5-coordinated Mn sites within a flexible, extended framework around the cation; hence, the size, shape, and charge of the cation dictate the unprecedented stoichio-metry and unpredictable cation adaptive structures. Antiferromagnetic coupling between adjacent MnII sites leads to ferrimagnetic ordering, but in some cases antiferromagnetic coupling of ferrimagnetic layers are compensated and synthetic antiferromagnets are observed. The magnetic ordering temperatures for ferrimagnetic A2 MnII [MnII (CN)6 ] with both octahedral high- and low-spin MnII sites increase with decreasing ∠Mn-N≡C. The crystal structures for all of the extended structured materials were obtained by powder diffraction.

Boronated Cyanometallates

Thirteen boronated cyanometallates [M(CN-BR₃)₆]^3/4/5- [M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os; BR₃ = BPh₃, B(2,4,6,-F₃C₆H₂)₃, B(C₆F₅)₃] and one metalloboratonitrile [Cr(NC-BPh₃)₆]^3- have been characterized by X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy [UV-vis-near-IR, NMR, IR, spectroelectrochemistry, and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD)]; CASSCF+NEVPT2 methods were employed in calculations of electronic structures. For (t_2g)⁵ electronic configurations, the lowest-energy ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) absorptions and MCD C-terms in the spectra of boronated species have been assigned to transitions from cyanide π + B-C borane σ orbitals. CASSCF+NEVPT2 calculations including t_1u and t_2u orbitals reproduced t_1u/t_2u → t_2g excitation energies. Many [M(CN-BR₃)₆]^3/4- complexes exhibited highly electrochemically reversible redox couples. Notably, the reduction formal potentials of all five [M(CN-B(C₆F₅)₃)₆]^3- anions scale with the LMCT energies, and Mn(I) and Cr(II) compounds, [K(18-crown-6)]₅[Mn(CN-B(C₆F₅)₃)₆] and [K(18-crown-6)]₄[Cr(CN-B(C₆F₅)₃)₆], are surprisingly stable. Continuous-wave and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR; hyperfine sublevel correlation) spectra were collected for all Cr(III) complexes; as expected, ¹⁴N hyperfine splittings are greater for (Ph₄As)₃[Cr(NC-BPh₃)₆] than for (Ph₄As)₃[Cr(CN-BPh₃)₆].

Quantum Chemical Study of a Radical Relay Mechanism for the HydG-Catalyzed Synthesis of a Fe(II)(CO)2(CN)cysteine Precursor to the H-Cluster of [FeFe] Hydrogenase

The [FeFe] hydrogenase catalyzes the redox interconversion of protons and H₂ with a Fe-S "H-cluster" employing CO, CN, and azadithiolate ligands to two Fe centers. The biosynthesis of the H-cluster is a highly interesting reaction carried out by a set of Fe-S maturase enzymes called HydE, HydF, and HydG. HydG, a member of the radical S-adenosylmethionine (rSAM) family, converts tyrosine, cysteine, and Fe(II) into an organometallic Fe(II)(CO)₂(CN)cysteine "synthon", which serves as the substrate for HydE. Although key aspects of the HydG mechanism have been experimentally determined via isotope-sensitive spectroscopic methods, other important mechanistic questions have eluded experimental determination. Here, we use computational quantum chemistry to refine the mechanism of the HydG catalytic reaction. We utilize quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations to investigate the reactions at the canonical Fe-S cluster, where a radical cleavage of the tyrosine substrate takes place and proceeds through a relay of radical intermediates to form HCN and a COO^•- radical anion. We then carry out a broken-symmetry density functional theory study of the reactions at the unusual five-iron auxiliary Fe-S cluster, where two equivalents of CN^- and COOH^• coordinate to the fifth "dangler iron" in a series of substitution and redox reactions that yield the synthon as the final product for further processing by HydE.

Tuning the Redox Potentials and Ligand Field Strength of Fe(II) Polypyridines: The Dual π-Donor and π-Acceptor Character of Bipyridine

The quintet-singlet energy difference (Δ E_Q/S) in Fe(II) polypyridine complexes is often interpreted in terms of metal-ligand π interactions. DFT calculations on a series of substituted [Fe(bpy)₃]²⁺ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) complexes show the disparate magnitudes of substituent effects on tuning Δ E_Q/S and reduction potentials ( E°). In this series, E° spans a much larger range than Δ E_Q/S (2.07 vs 0.29 eV). While small changes in Δ E_Q/S are controlled by metal-ligand π interactions, large changes in E° arise from modification of the electrostatic environment around the Fe center. Molecular orbital analysis reveals that, contrary to the typical description of bpy as a π-acceptor, bpy is better described as acting as both a π-donor and π-acceptor in [Fe(bpy)₃]²⁺ complexes, even when it is substituted with highly electron withdrawing substituents. Overall, substituent modification is a useful strategy for fine-tuning the ligand field strength but not for significant reordering of the spin-state manifold, despite the large effect on metal-ligand electrostatic interactions.

Synthesis of a mononuclear, non-square-planar chromium(ii) bis(alkoxide) complex and its reactivity toward organic carbonyls and CO2

A rare non-square-planar mononuclear Cr(ii) bis(alkoxide) complex Cr(OR′)₂(THF)₂ is reported and its reactivity with organic carbonyls and CO₂ is investigated.

The low spin Co(II) fragment with homoleptic 1,10-phenanthroline ligands: synthesis, structures, DFT investigations, and magnetic properties

Two complexes {[Co(II)(phen)(3)][Co(III)(phen)(CN)(4)](2)}·phen·11H(2)O (1) and [Co(II)(μ-CN)(2)(Co(III))(2)(phen)(4)(CN)(6)]·C(2)H(5)OH·2H(2)O (2) were synthesized with identical starting materials but with a different order of addition. Their crystal structures, spectroscopic analysis, DFT calculations, and investigations of their magnetic properties are reported herein. The X-ray diffraction studies reveal that complex 1 mainly consists of discrete [Co(II)(phen)(3)](2+) cations and [Co(III)(phen)(CN)(4)](-) anions, while complex 2 is dominantly comprised of discrete neutral V-shaped trinuclear units [Co(II)(μ-CN)(2)(Co(III))(2)(phen)(4)(CN)(6)]. The first low-spin Co(II) fragment with homoleptic 1,10-phenanthroline ligands in 1 is observed at room temperature, owing to charge transfer from the neighboring anion via adventitious contacts and anion-π interactions. This is verified by structures, detailed theoretical analyses concerning frontier molecular orbital energy differences and Mulliken charge variations of the N atoms within the Co(II)N(6) sphere, and magnetism. Meanwhile, these kinds of supramolecular interactions are not found in complex 2, so it shows the ordinary magnetic behavior of the high-spin Co(II) ion. Our investigations highlight that for quantitative comprehension of spin-state energetic ordering in transition metal complexes, the supramolecular interactions must be taken into account in addition to classical ligand field theory. Moreover, we find that the [Co(II)(phen)(3)](2+) dication is sensitive to its surroundings in the solid state, which is beneficial for magnetic adjustment for the further synthesis of tunable molecular magnets and spin crossover systems.