Rhenium(I) and platinum(II) complexes with diimine ligands bearing acidic phenol substituents: hydrogen-bonding, acid-base chemistry and optical properties

Charge Transfer Chromophores Derived from 3d-Row Transition Metal Complexes

A series of new charge transfer (CT) chromophores of "α-diimine-M^II-catecholate" type (where M is 3d-row transition metals-Cu, Ni, Co) were derived from 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridyl and 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone (3,6-DTBQ) in accordance with three modified synthetic approaches, which provide high yields of products. A square-planar molecular structure is inherent for monomeric [Cu^II(3,6-Cat)(bipy^tBu)]∙THF (1) and Ni^II(3,6-Cat)(bipy^tBu) (2) chromophores, while dimeric complex [Co^II(3,6-Cat)(bipy^tBu)]₂∙toluene (3) units two substantially distorted heteroleptic D-M^II-A (where D, M, A are donor, metal and acceptor, respectively) parts through a donation of oxygen atoms from catecholate dianions. Chromophores 1-3 undergo an effective photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer (λ = 500-715 nm, extinction coefficient up to 10⁴ M^-1·cm^-1) with a concomitant generation of a less polar excited species, the energy of which is a finely sensitive towards solvent polarity, ensuring a pronounced negative solvatochromic effect. Special attention was paid to energetic characteristics for CT and interacting HOMO/LUMO orbitals that were explored by a synergy of UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and DFT study. The current work sheds light on the dependence of CT peculiarities on the nature of metal centers from various groups of the periodic law. Moreover, the "α-diimine-M^II-catecholate" CT chromophores on the base of "late" transition elements with differences in d-level's electronic structure were compared for the first time.

Square-Planar Heteroleptic Complexes of α-Diimine-NiII-Catecholate Type: Intramolecular Ligand-to-Ligand Charge Transfer

Two heteroleptic NiII complexes combined the redox-active catecholate and 2,2'- bipyridine ligand platforms were synthesized to observe a photoinduced intramolecular ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LL'CT, HOMOcatecholate → LUMOα-diimine). A molecular design of compound [NiII(3,6-Cat)(bipy)]∙CH3CN (1) on the base of bulky 3,6-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone (3,6-DTBQ) was an annelation of the ligand with an electron donor glycol fragment, producing derivative [NiII(3,6-Catgly)(bipy)]∙CH2Cl2 (2), in order to influence the energy of LL'CT transition. A substantial longwave shift of the absorption peak was observed in the UV-Vis-NIR spectra of 2 compared with those in 1. In addition, the studied NiII derivatives demonstrated a pronounced negative solvatochromism, which was established using a broad set of solvents. The molecular geometry of both compounds can be ascribed as an insignificantly distorted square-planar type, and the π-π intermolecular stacking of the neighboring α-diimines is realized in a crystal packing. There is a lamellar crystal structure for complex 1, whereas the perpendicular T-motifs with the inter-stacks attractive π-π interactions form the packing of complex 2. The redox-active nature of ligand systems was clearly shown through the electrochemical study: a quasi-reversible one-electron reduction of 2,2'-bipyridine and two reversible successive one-electron oxidative conversations ("catecholate dianion-o-benzosemiquinonato radical anion-neutral o-benzoquinone") were detected.

Luminescent Rhenium(I)tricarbonyl Complexes Containing Different Pyrazoles and Their Successive Deprotonation Products: CO2 Reduction Electrocatalysts

Cationic fac-[Re(CO)₃(pz*H)(pypzH)]OTf (pz*H = pyrazole, pzH; 3,5-dimethylpyrazole, dmpzH; indazole, indzH; 3-(2-pyridyl)pyrazole, pypzH) were obtained from fac-[ReBr(CO)₃(pypzH)] by halide abstraction with AgOTf and subsequent addition of the corresponding pyrazole. Successive deprotonation with Na₂CO₃ and NaOH gave neutral fac-[Re(CO)₃(pz*H)(pypz)] and anionic Na{fac-[Re(CO)₃(pz*)(pypz)]} complexes, respectively. Cationic fac-[Re(CO)₃(pz*H)(pypzH)]OTf, neutral complexes fac-[Re(CO)₃(pz*H)(pypz)], and fac-[Re(CO)₃(pypz)₂Na] were subjected to photophysical and electrochemical studies. They exhibit phosphorescent decays from a prevalently ³MLCT excited state with quantum yields (Φ) in the range between 0.03 and 0.58 and long lifetimes (τ from 220 to 869 ns). The electrochemical behavior in Ar atmosphere of cationic and neutral complexes indicates that the oxidation processes assigned to Re^I → Re^II occurs at lower potentials for the neutral complex compared to cationic complex. The reduction processes occur at the ligands and do not depend on the charge of the complexes. The electrochemical behavior in CO₂ saturated media is consistent with CO₂ electrocatalyzed reduction, where the values of the catalytic activity [i_cat(CO₂)/i_cat(Ar)] ranged from 2.7 to 11.5 (compared to 8.1 for fac-[Re(CO)₃Cl(bipy)] studied as a reference). Controlled potential electrolysis for the pyrazole cationic (3a) and neutral (4a) complexes after 1 h affords CO in faraday yields of 61 and 89%, respectively. These values are higher for indazole complexes and may be related to the acidity of the coordinated pyrazole.

Intra- and intermolecular interactions in a series of chlorido-tricarbonyl-diazabutadienerhenium(I) complexes: structural and theoretical studies

A series of new chlorido-tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes bearing alkyl-substituted diazabutadiene (DAB) ligands, namely N,N'-bis(2,4-dimethylbenzene)-1,4-diazabutadiene (L1), N,N'-bis(2,4-dimethylbenzene)-2,3-dimethyl-1,4-diazabutadiene (L2), N,N'-bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzene)-2,3-dimethyl-1,4-diazabutadiene (L3) and N,N'-bis(2,6-diisopropylbenzene)-1,4-diazabutadiene (L4), were synthesized and investigated. The crystal structures have been fully characterized by X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods. Density functional theory, natural bond orbital and non-covalent interaction index methods have been used to study the optimized geometry in the gas phase and intra- and intermolecular interactions in the complexes, respectively. The most important studied interactions in these metal carbonyl complexes are n→π*, n→σ* and π→π*. Among complexes 1-4, only 2 shows interesting intermolecular n→π* interactions due to lp(C[triple-bond]O)...π* and lp(Cl)...π* (lp = lone pair) contacts.

Photophysical and biological investigation of phenol substituted rhenium tetrazolato complexes

The synthesis, structural and photophysical characterisation of four tricarbonyl rhenium(i) complexes bound to 1,10-phenanthroline and a tetrazolato ancillary ligand are reported. The complexes are differentiated by the nature (hydroxy or methoxy) and position (meta or para) of the substituent attached to the phenyl ring in conjugation to the tetrazole ring. The complexes exhibit phosphorescence emission from triplet charge transfer excited states, with the maxima around 600 nm, excited state lifetime decays in the 200-300 ns range, and quantum yield values of 4-6% in degassed acetonitrile solutions. The nature and position of the substituent does not significantly affect the photophysical properties, which remain unchanged even after deprotonation of the hydroxide group on the phenol ring. The interpretation of the photophysical data was further validated by resonance Raman spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory calculations. All the complexes are internalised within cells, albeit to variable degrees. As highlighted by a combination of flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, the species display diffuse cytoplasmic localisation except for the complex with the hydroxy functional group at the para position, which reveals lower accumulation in cells and more pronounced punctate staining. Overall, the complexes displayed low levels of cytotoxicity.

Synthesis and crystal structure of tri-carbonyl-chlorido-{1-[(pyridin-2-yl-methyl-idene)amino]-adamantane}rhenium(I)

The title compound, [ReCl(pyAm)(CO)3], where pyAm is 1-[(pyridin-2-yl-methyl-idene)amino]-adamantane (C16H20N2), was synthesized from the reaction of [ReCl(CO)5] and pyAm in an equimolar ratio. The ReI atom resides in an octa-hedral C3ClN2 coordination sphere. The Re-C bond trans to the chloride ligand is noticeably longer compared to the other two Re-C distances. Weak C-H⋯Cl hydrogen-bonding inter-actions consoldiate the packing of the mol-ecules. In this design, the pyAm ligand was employed due to its well-known pharmacokinetic properties.

Tetrathiafulvalene-based azine ligands for anion and metal cation coordination

The synthesis and full characterization of two tetrathiafulvalene-appended azine ligands, namely 2-([2,2’-bi(1,3-dithiolylidene)]-4-yl)-6-((2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazono)methyl)pyridine (L1) and 5-([2,2’-bi(1,3-dithiolylidene)]-4-yl)-2-((2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydrazono)methyl)pyridine (L2) are described. The crystal structure of ligand L1 indicates that the ligand is completely planar with the presence of a strong intramolecular N3–H3···O1 hydrogen bonding. Titration experiments with inorganic anions showed that both ligands are suitable candidates for the sensing of fluoride anions. Ligand L2 was reacted with a Re(I) cation to yield the corresponding rhenium tricarbonyl complex 3. In the crystal structure of the newly prepared electroactive rhenium complex the TTF is neutral and the rhenium cation is hexacoordinated. The electrochemical behavior of the three compounds indicates that they are promising for the construction of crystalline radical cation salts.

A pair of dinuclear Re(i) enantiomers: synthesis, crystal structures, chiroptical and ferroelectric properties

A pair of dinuclear Re(i) enantiomers have been successfully synthesized, representing the first example of polynuclear Re(i) complexes with ferroelectric properties and possessing a multifunctional feature combining chirality, NLO-activity and ferroelectricity within one molecule.

Synthesis, Spectroscopy, and Electrochemistry of (α-Diimine)M(CO)3Br, M = Mn, Re, Complexes: Ligands Isoelectronic to Bipyridyl Show Differences in CO2 Reduction

The synthesis and characterization of new Mn(I)- and Re(I)-centered organometallic complexes fashioned with 1,4-diazabutadiene (DAB) ligands is reported. Ten compounds of the type fac-(α-diimine)M(CO)3Br (M = Mn, Re) were obtained in moderate to excellent yield (35-80%) and high purity from the coordination of the five ligands with M(CO)5Br in refluxing ethanol. Despite the electronic similarity of DAB to 2,2'-bipyridyl, the complexes described herein were poor mediators of electrochemical CO2 conversion to CO, but provide insight into the role of redox-active ligands in catalysis. Additional characterization of the one-electron reduced rhenium compounds, relevant intermediates in CO2 reduction, by EPR and single-crystal X-ray analysis is described.

The synthesis and pH-dependent behaviour of Re(CO)3 conjugates with diimine phenolic ligands

In this report we present a study of a series of Re(CO)3 pyridine-imine complexes with pendant phenol groups. We investigated the effects of the position of the phenol hydroxyl group (para, meta or ortho to the imine) on the steric and electronic characteristics of a series of Re(CO)3X(pyca-C6H4OH) compounds, where X = Cl, Br and pyca = pyridine-2-carbaldehyde imine. These compounds can be generated either via ligand synthesis followed by metal chelation (compound 4) or via a one-pot method (compounds 2, 3, 5 and 6). All six compounds show striking differences in pH-dependent UV-visible absorption based on the position of the phenol hydroxyl group.

The synthesis of biologically relevant conjugates of Re(CO)3 using pyridine-2-carboxyaldehyde

The new pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde adduct, Re(CO)₃(NC₆H₅C(O)H)Cl 1, and previously reported complex Re(CO)₃(NC₆H₅C(O)H)Br 2 react with aniline derivatives sulfanilamide or 4-aminofluorescein in methanol giving Schiff base conjugates Re(CO)₃(pyca-R)X (pyca = pyridinecarbaldehyde imine, X = Cl, Br), 3-6. Pre-isolation of compounds 1 and 2 provides a convenient method for preparing conjugate complexes in addition to the known methods of ligand synthesis and one-pot reactions. All new compounds were completely characterized, and compound 1 and the sulfanilamide derivatives 3 and 4 were structurally elucidated by X-ray crystallography.