Synthesis and characterization of manganese and iron complexes supported by multidentate [N2P2] ligands

Terminal Hydride Complex of High-Spin Mn

The iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase (FeMoco) catalyzes fixation of N2 via Fe hydride intermediates. Our understanding of these species has relied heavily on the characterization of well-defined 3d metal hydride complexes, which serve as putative spectroscopic models. Although the Fe ions in FeMoco, a weak-field cluster, are expected to adopt locally high-spin Fe2+/3+ configurations, synthetically accessible hydride complexes featuring d5 or d6 electron counts are almost exclusively low-spin. We report herein the isolation of a terminal hydride complex of four-coordinate, high-spin (d5; S = 5/2) Mn2+. Electron paramagnetic resonance and electron-nuclear double resonance studies reveal an unusually large degree of spin density on the hydrido ligand. In light of the isoelectronic relationship between Mn2+ and Fe3+, our results are expected to inform our understanding of the valence electronic structures of reactive hydride intermediates derived from FeMoco.

Kappa what? Insights into the coordination modes of N2P2 ligands

While first synthesized more than three decades ago, complexes supported by N2P2 ligands have seen renewed interest due to the synthesis of new ligands, expansion of their reactivity, and catalytic applications. Possessing both soft phosphines and hard nitrogen donors, N2P2 ligands can accommodate various metal geometries and coordination modes thanks to their capability to act as bidentate, tridentate or tetradentate ligands. This short review will explore how metals bind to these ligands and also highlight the complexes' reactivity and catalytic abilities.

An Experimental and Computational Investigation Rules Out Direct Nucleophilic Addition on the N2 Ligand in Manganese Dinitrogen Complex [Cp(CO)2 Mn(N2 )]

We have re-examined the reactivity of the manganese dinitrogen complex [Cp(CO)2 Mn(N2 )] (1, Cp=η5 -cyclopentadienyl, C5 H5 ) with phenylithium (PhLi). By combining experiment and density functional theory (DFT), we have found that, unlike previously reported, the direct nucleophilic attack of the carbanion onto coordinated dinitrogen does not occur. Instead, PhLi reacts with one of the CO ligands to provide an anionic acylcarbonyl dinitrogen metallate [Cp(CO)(N2 )MnCOPh]Li (3) that is stable only below -40 °C. Full characterization of 3 (including single crystal X-ray diffraction) was performed. This complex decomposes quickly above -20 °C with N2 loss to give a phenylate complex [Cp(CO)2 MnPh]Li (2). The latter compound was erroneously formulated as an anionic diazenido compound [Cp(CO)2 MnN(Ph)=N]Li in earlier reports, ruling out the claimed and so-far unique behavior of the N2 ligand in 1. DFT calculations were run to explore both the hypothesized and the experimentally verified reactivity of 1 with PhLi and are fully consistent with our results. Direct attack of a nucleophile on metal-coordinated N2 remains to be demonstrated.

Trans Ligand Determines the Stability of Paramagnetic Manganese(II) Hydrides of the Type trans-[MnH(L)(dmpe)2]+ Where L is PMe3, C2H4, or CO

Paramagnetic metal hydride (PMH) complexes play important roles in catalytic applications and bioinorganic chemistry. 3d PMH chemistry has largely focused on Ti, Mn, Fe, and Co. Various Mn^II PMHs have been proposed as intermediates in catalysis, but isolated Mn^II PMHs are limited to dimeric high-spin Mn^II structures with bridging hydrides. In this paper, a series of the first low-spin monomeric Mn^II PMH complexes are generated by chemical oxidation of their Mn^I analogues. This series is of the type trans-[MnH(L)(dmpe)₂]^+/0 where the trans ligand L is PMe₃, C₂H₄, or CO [dmpe is 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane], and the thermal stability of the Mn^II hydride complexes was found to be strongly dependent on the identity of the trans ligand. When L is PMe₃, the complex is the first example of an isolated monomeric Mn^II hydride complex. In contrast, when L is C₂H₄ or CO, the complexes are only stable at low temperatures; upon warming to room temperature, the former decomposed to afford [Mn(dmpe)₃]⁺, accompanied by ethane and ethylene, whereas the latter eliminated H₂, generating [Mn(MeCN)(CO)(dmpe)₂]⁺ or a mixture of products including [Mn(κ¹-PF₆)(CO)(dmpe)₂], depending on the reaction conditions. All PMHs were characterized by low-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and stable [MnH(PMe₃)(dmpe)₂]⁺ was further characterized by UV-vis and IR spectroscopy, Superconducting Quantum Interference Device magnetometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Noteworthy spectral properties are the significant EPR superhyperfine coupling to the hydride (∼85 MHz) and an increase (+33 cm^-1) in the Mn-H IR stretch upon oxidation. Density functional theory calculations were also employed to gain insights into the acidity and bond strengths of the complexes. Mn^II-H bond dissociation free energies are estimated to decrease in the series of complexes from 60 (L = PMe₃) to 47 kcal/mol (L = CO).

Activation of Dinitrogen by Polynuclear Metal Complexes

Activation of dinitrogen plays an important role in daily anthropogenic life, and the processes by which this fixation occurs have been a longstanding and significant research focus within the community. One of the major fields of dinitrogen activation research is the use of multimetallic compounds to reduce and/or activate N2 into a more useful nitrogen-atom source, such as ammonia. Here we report a comprehensive review of multimetallic-dinitrogen complexes and their utility toward N2 activation, beginning with the d-block metals from Group 4 to Group 11, then extending to Group 13 (which is exclusively populated by B complexes), and finally the rare-earth and actinide species. The review considers all polynuclear metal aggregates containing two or more metal centers in which dinitrogen is coordinated or activated (i.e., partial or complete cleavage of the N2 triple bond in the observed product). Our survey includes complexes in which mononuclear N2 complexes are used as building blocks to generate homo- or heteromultimetallic dinitrogen species, which allow one to evaluate the potential of heterometallic species for dinitrogen activation. We highlight some of the common trends throughout the periodic table, such as the differences between coordination modes as it relates to N2 activation and potential functionalization and the effect of polarizing the bridging N2 ligand by employing different metal ions of differing Lewis acidities. By providing this comprehensive treatment of polynuclear metal dinitrogen species, this Review aims to outline the past and provide potential future directions for continued research in this area.

Supersilyl as an effective monodentate ligand to stabilize four-coordinate manganese(ii) complexes

Supersilyl, –Si(SiMe₃)₃, serves as an effective ligand to afford a series of four-coordinate manganese(ii) complexes.

Mechanism-Based Enantiodivergence in Manganese Reduction Catalysis: A Chiral Pincer Complex for the Highly Enantioselective Hydroboration of Ketones

A manganese alkyl complex containing a chiral bis(oxazolinyl-methylidene)isoindoline pincer ligand is a precatalyst for a catalytic system of unprecedented activity and selectivity in the enantioselective hydroboration of ketones, thus producing preparatively useful chiral alcohols in excellent yields with up to greater than 99 % ee. It is applicable for both aryl alkyl and dialkyl ketone reduction under mild reaction conditions (TOF >450 h^-1 at -40 °C). The earth-abundant base-metal catalyst operates at very low catalyst loadings (as low as 0.1 mol %) and with a high level of functional-group tolerance. There is evidence for the existence of two distinct mechanistic pathways for manganese-catalyzed hydride transfer and their role for enantiocontrol in the selectivity-determining step is presented.

Stabilisation of carbonyl free amidinato-manganese(II) hydride complexes: "masked" sources of manganese(I) in organometallic synthesis

Reaction of the amidinato-manganese(ii) bromide complex, [{(κ(2)-N,N'-Piso)Mn(μ-Br)}3(THF)2] (Piso = [(DipN)2CBu(t)](-), Dip = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl), with K[BHEt3] affords the first example of a structurally authenticated amidinato-manganese(ii) hydride complex, [{(N-,η(3)-arene-Piso)Mn(μ-H)2}2], via a process which involves a change in the amidinate coordination mode. Treatment of the bulkier precursor complex, [{(Piso'')Mn(μ-Br)}n] (Piso'' = [(Dip''N)2CBu(t)](-), Dip'' = C6H2Pr(i)2(CPh3)-2,6,4), with K[BHEt3] did not lead to an isolable manganese hydride complex, but its reaction with the magnesium(i) complex, [{((Mes)Nacnac)Mg}2] ((Mes)Nacnac = [(MesNCMe)2CH](-), Mes = mesityl), did. This reaction presumably proceeds via a reactive manganese(i) intermediate, which abstracts hydrogen from a reaction component to give [{(κ(2)-N,N'-Piso'')Mn(μ-H)}3]. A comparison of the reactivities of [{(N-,η(3)-arene-Piso)Mn(μ-H)2}2] and the isomorphous manganese(i) complex, [{(N-,η(3)-arene-Piso)Mn}2], toward CO, O2 and N2O was carried out. Reactions with the manganese(i) and manganese(ii) species gave identical results, namely the formation of the manganese(i) carbonyl complex, [(κ(2)-N,N'-Piso)Mn(CO)4] (reactions with CO), and the manganese(iii)-μ-oxo complex, [{(κ(2)-N,N'-Piso)Mn(μ-O)}2] (reactions with O2 and N2O). These results indicate that [{(N-,η(3)-arene-Piso)Mn(μ-H)2}2] can act as a "masked" source of an amidinato-manganese(i) fragment in synthetic transformations.

Dinitrogen binding and cleavage by multinuclear iron complexes

The iron–molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase has unprecedented coordination chemistry, including a high-spin iron cluster called the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco). Thus, understanding the mechanism of nitrogenase challenges coordination chemists to understand the fundamental N₂ chemistry of high-spin iron sites. This Account summarizes a series of studies in which we have synthesized a number of new compounds with multiple iron atoms, characterized them using crystallography and spectroscopy, and studied their reactions in detail. These studies show that formally iron(I) and iron(0) complexes with three- and four-coordinate metal atoms have the ability to weaken and break the triple bond of N₂. These reactions occur at or below room temperature, indicating that they are kinetically facile. This in turn implies that iron sites in the FeMoco are chemically reasonable locations for N₂ binding and reduction.

The careful evaluation of these compounds and their reaction pathways has taught important lessons about what characteristics make iron more effective for N₂ activation. Cooperation of two iron atoms can lengthen and weaken the N–N bond, while three working together enables iron atoms to completely cleave the N–N bond to nitrides. Alkali metals (typically introduced into the reaction as part of the reducing agent) are thermodynamically useful because the alkali metal cations stabilize highly reduced complexes, pull electron density into the N₂ unit, and make reduced nitride products more stable. Alkali metals can also play a kinetic role, because cation−π interactions with the supporting ligands can hold iron atoms near enough to one another to facilitate the cooperation of multiple iron atoms. Many of these principles may also be relevant to the iron-catalyzed Haber–Bosch process, at which collections of iron atoms (often promoted by the addition of alkali metals) break the N–N bond of N₂.

The results of these studies teach more general lessons as well. They have demonstrated that N₂ can be a redox-active ligand, accepting spin and electron density in complexes of N₂^2–. They have shown the power of cooperation between multiple transition metals, and also between alkali metals and transition metals. Finally, alkali metal based cation−π interactions have the potential to be broadly useful for bringing metals close together with sufficient flexibility to allow multistep, multielectron reactions. At the same time, the positive charge on the alkali metal cation stabilizes charge buildup in intermediates.

N2 activation by an iron complex with a strong electron-donating iminophosphorane ligand

A new tridentate cyclopentane-bridged iminophosphorane ligand, N-(2-diisopropylphosphinophenyl)-P,P-diisopropyl-P-(2-(2,6-diisopropylphenylamido)cyclopent-1-enyl)phosphoranimine (NpNPiPr), was synthesized and used in the preparation of a diiron dinitrogen complex. The reaction of the iron complex FeBr(NpNPiPr) with KC8 under dinitrogen yielded the dinuclear dinitrogen Fe complex [Fe(NpNPiPr)]2(μ-N2), which was characterized by X-ray analysis and resonance Raman and NMR spectroscopies. The X-ray analysis revealed a diiron complex bridged by the dinitrogen molecule, with each metal center coordinated by an NpNPiPr ligand and dinitrogen in a trigonal-monopyramidal geometry. The N–N bond length is 1.184(6) Å, and resonance Raman spectra indicate that the N–N stretching mode ν(14N2/15N2) is 1755/1700 cm–1. The magnetic moment of [Fe(NpNPiPr)]2(μ-N2) in benzene-d6 solution, as measured by 1H NMR spectroscopy by the Evans method, is 6.91μB (S = 3). The Mössbauer spectrum at 78 K showed δ = 0.73 mm/s and ΔEQ = 1.83 mm/s. These findings suggest that the iron ions are divalent with a high-spin configuration and that the N2 molecule has (N═N)2– character. Density functional theory calculations performed on [Fe(NpNPiPr)]2(μ-N2) also suggested that the iron is in a high-spin divalent state and that the coordinated dinitrogen molecule is effectively activated by π back-donation from the two iron ions (dπ) to the dinitrogen molecule (πx* and πy*). This is supported by cooperation between a large negative charge on the iminophosphorane ligand and strong electron donation and effective orbital overlap between the iron dπ orbitals and N2 π* orbitals supplied by the phosphine ligand.

Facile metalation of silicon and germanium analogues of thiocarboxylic acids with a manganese(II) hydride precursor

Synthesis and characterization of the first manganese(II)-containing heavier thiocarboxylate analogues, [L(Dip)Si(=S)OMnL(Dep)] (4; L(Dip)=CH[C(Me)N(2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3))](2), L(Dep)=CH[C(Me)N(2,6-Et(2)C(6)H(3))](2)) and [L(Dip)Ge(=S)OMnL(Dep)] (5) are described. They are accessible through reaction of the silicon and germanium analogues of the respective thiocarboxylic acids [L(Dip)E(=S)OH] (E=Si, Ge) with the β-diketiminato (nacnac) manganese(II) hydride precursor [(L(Dep)Mn)(2)(μ-H)(2)] (3) in high yield. The first Mn nacnac hydride 3 has been prepared by the reaction of manganese bromide [(L(Dep)Mn)(2)(μ-Br)(2)] (2) with KBEt(3)H. Compounds 4 and 5 represent the first transition-metal heavier thiocarboxylates with the Si=S and Ge=S functionalities. All new compounds are paramagnetic and were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, MS (EI), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Due to the N→E (E=Si, Ge) and E=S→Mn donor-acceptor interaction as well as the carboxylate-like π-electron delocalization within the E(S)O moieties, the E=S double bonds in these compounds are resonance stabilized.