Insight into the electronic structure, optical properties, and redox behavior of the hybrid phthalocyaninoclathrochelates from experimental and density functional theory approaches

An insight into the electronic structure of several hafnium(IV), zirconium(IV), and lutetium(III) phthalocyaninoclathrochelates has been discussed on the basis of experimental UV-vis, MCD, electro- and spectroelectrochemical data as well as density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations. On the basis of UV-vis and MCD spectroscopy as well as theoretical predictions, it was concluded that the electronic structure of the phthalocyninoclathrochelates can be described in the first approximation as a superposition of the weakly interacting phthalocyanine and clathrochelate substituents. Spectroelectrochemical data and DFT calculations clearly confirm that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) in all tested complexes is localized on the phthalocyanine ligand. X-ray crystallography on zirconium(IV) and earlier reported hafnium(IV) phthalocyaninoclathrochelate complexes revealed a slightly distorted phthalocyanine conformation with seven-coordinated metal center positioned ∼1 Å above macrocyclic cavity. The geometry of the encapsulated iron(II) ion in the clathrochelate fragment was found to be between trigonal-prismatic and trigonal-antiprismatic.

Ditopic macropolycyclic complexes: synthesis of hybrid phthalocyaninoclathrochelates

A remetalation (a capping group exchange) reaction of the boronantimony-capped iron(II) clathrochelates with zirconium and hafnium(IV) phthalocyanines in CH2Cl2/CH3OH medium afforded the hybrid phthalocyaninoclathrochelates in a practically quantitative yield. The complexes obtained have been characterized both on the basis of elemental analysis, PD mass spectrometry, IR, UV-vis, 57Fe Mössbauer, and NMR spectroscopies, and crystallographically. An encapsulated iron(II) ion in an intermediate between a trigonal-prismatic and a trigonal-antiprismatic environment of six nitrogen atoms of the macrobicyclic ligand was found to be in a low-spin state. The cyclic voltammograms show irreversible oxidation and reduction waves assignable to Fe+/Fe2+ couples of macrobicyclic fragments and to phthalocyanine macrocycles.