Supramolecular Diversity, Theoretical Investigation and Antibacterial Activity of Cu, Co and Cd Complexes Based on the Tridentate N,N,O-Schiff Base Ligand Formed In Situ

The four new complexes, [Cu(HL¹)(L²)Cl] (1), [Cu(HL¹)(L¹)]∙Cl∙2H₂O (2), [Co(L¹)₂]∙Cl (3) and [Cd(HL¹)I₂]∙dmso (4), have been prepared by one-pot reactions of the respective chloride or iodide metal salt with a non-aqueous solution of the polydentate Schiff base, HL¹, resulted from in situ condensation of benzhydrazide and 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde, while a ligand HL², in case of 1, has been formed due to the oxidation of 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde under reaction conditions. The crystallographic analysis revealed that the molecular building units in 1-4 are linked together into complex structures by hydrogen bonding, resulting in 1D, 2D and 3D supramolecular architectures for 1, 2 and 4, respectively, and the supramolecular trimer for 3. The electronic structures of 1-4 were investigated by the DFT theoretical calculations. The non-covalent interactions in the crystal structures of 1-4 were studied by means of the Hirshfeld surface analysis and the QTAIM theory with a special focus on the C-H⋯Cl bonding. From the DFT/DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculations, using a series of charged model {R₃C-H}⁰⋯Cl^- assemblies, we propose linear regressions for assessment of the interaction enthalpy (ΔH, kcal mol^-1) and the binding energy (BE, kcal mol^-1) between {R₃C-H}⁰ and Cl^- sites starting from the electron density at the bond critical point (ρ(r_BCP), a.u.): ΔH = -678 × ρ(r) + 3 and BE = -726 × ρ(r) + 4. It was also has been found that compounds 1, 3 and 4 during in vitro screening showed an antibacterial activity toward the nine bacteria species, comprising both Gram-positive and Gram-negative, with MIC values ranging from 156.2 to 625 mg/L. The best results have been obtained against Acinetobacter baumannii MβL.

A novel o-vanillin Fe(III) complex catalytically active in C-H oxidation: exploring the magnetic exchange interactions and spectroscopic properties with different DFT functionals

The novel complex [Fe^IIICl(L)₂(H₂O)] (1) was synthesized by interaction of iron(III) chloride with ethanol solution of o-vanillin (HL) and characterized by IR, UV/Vis spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The molecules of 1 in the solid state are joined into supramolecular dimeric units, where a set of strong hydrogen bonds predefines the structure of the dimer according to the "key-lock" principle. From the Hirshfield surface analysis the contribution of π⋯π stacking to the overall stabilization of the dimer was found to be negligible. Broken symmetry DFT calculations suggested the presence of long-range antiferromagnetic interactions (J = -0.12 cm^-1 for H = -JS₁S₂ formalism) occurring through the Fe-O⋯O-Fe pathway, as evidenced by the studies of the model dimers where the water molecules were substituted by acetonitrile and acetone ones. The benchmark studies using a set of literature examples and various DFT functionals revealed the hybrid-GGA B3LYP as the best one for prediction of Fe^III⋯Fe^III antiferromagnetic exchange couplings of small magnitude. Magnetic susceptibility measurements confirmed antiferromagnetic coupling between the metal atoms in 1 with a coupling constant of -0.35 cm^-1. Catalytic studies demonstrated that 1 acts as an efficient catalyst in the oxidation of cyclohexane with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of nitric acid promoter and under mild conditions (yield up to 37% based on the substrate), while tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) and m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m-CPBA) as oxidants exhibit less efficiency. Combined UV/TDDFT studies evidence the structural rearrangement of 1 in acetonitrile with the formation of [Fe^IIICl(L)₂(CH₃CN)] species. The TDDFT benchmark using nine common DFT functionals and two model compounds (o-vanillin and [Fe^III(H₂O)₆]³⁺ ion) support the hybrid meta-GGA M06-2X functional as the one most correctly predicting the excited state structure for the Fe(III) complexes, under the conditions studied.

Ferro- vs. antiferromagnetic exchange between two Ni(II) ions in a series of Schiff base heterometallic complexes: what makes the difference?

Three new NiII/ZnII heterometallics, [NiZnL'2(OMe)Cl]2 (1), [NiZnL''(Dea)Cl]2·2DMF (2) and [Ni2(H3L''')2(o-Van)(MeOH)2]Cl·[ZnCl2(H4L''')(MeOH)]·2MeOH (3), containing three-dentate Schiff bases as well as methanol or diethanolamine (H2Dea) or o-vanillin (o-VanH), all deprotonated, as bridging ligands were synthesized and structurally characterized. The Schiff base ligands were produced in situ from o-VanH and CH3NH2 (HL'), or NH2OH (HL"), or 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-propane-1,3-diol (H4L'''); a zerovalent metal (Ni and Zn in 1, Zn only in 2 and 3) was employed as a source of metal ions. The first two complexes are dimers with a Ni2Zn2O6 central core, while the third compound is a novel heterometallic cocrystal salt solvate built of a neutral zwitterionic ZnII Schiff base complex and of ionic salt containing dinuclear NiII complex cations. The crystal structures contain either centrosymmetric (1 and 2) or non-symmetric di-nickel fragment (3) with NiNi distances in the range 3.146-3.33 Å. The exchange coupling is antiferromagnetic for 1, J = 7.7 cm-1, and ferromagnetic for 2, J = -6.5 cm-1 (using the exchange Hamiltonian in a form Ĥ = Jŝ1ŝ2). The exchange interactions in 1 and 2 are comparable to the zero-field splitting (ZFS). High-field EPR revealed moderate magnetic anisotropy of opposite signs: D = 2.27 cm-1, E = 0.243 cm-1 (1) and D = -4.491 cm-1, E = -0.684 cm-1 (2). Compound 3 stands alone with very weak ferromagnetism (J = -0.6 cm-1) and much stronger magnetic anisotropy with D = -11.398 cm-1 and E = -1.151 cm-1. Attempts to calculate theoretically the exchange coupling (using the DFT "broken symmetry" method) and ZFS parameters (with the ab initio CASSCF method) were successful in predicting the trends of J and D among the three complexes, while the quantitative results were less good for 1 and 3.

Synthesis and crystal structure of a heterobimetallic nickel-manganese 12-metallacrown-4 methanol disolvate monohydrate compound

The synthesis and crystal structure of the title compound [systematic name: di-μ-acetato-tetra-kis-(μ4-N,2-dioxido-benzene-1-carboximidato)hexa-methano-ltetra-manganese(III)nickel(II) methanol disolvate monohydrate], [Mn4Ni(C7H4NO3)4(C2H3O2)2(CH4O)6]·2CH4O·H2O or Ni(OAc)2[12-MCMn(III)N(shi)-4](CH3OH)6·2CH3OH·H2O, where MC is metallacrown, -OAc is acetate, and shi3- is salicyl-hydroximate, are reported. The macrocyclic metallacrown is positioned on an inversion center located on the NiII ion that resides in the central MC cavity. The macrocycle consists of an MnIII-N-O repeat unit that recurs four times to generate an overall square-shaped mol-ecule. Both the NiII and MnIII ions are six-coordinate with an octa-hedral geometry. In addition, the MnIII ions possess an elongated Jahn-Teller distortion along the z-axis of the coordination environment. The inter-stitial water mol-ecule is slightly offset from and disordered about an inversion center.

New members of the polynuclear manganese family: MnMn single-molecule magnets and MnMn antiferromagnetic complexes. Synthesis and magnetostructural correlations

The synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties are reported for three novel mixed-valence tetranuclear [MnII2MnIII2(HBuDea)2(BuDea)2(EBA)4] (1), [MnII2MnIII2(HBuDea)2(BuDea)2(DMBA)4] (2) and undecanuclear [MnII3MnIII8O4(OH)2(BuDea)6(DMBA)8] (3) clusters, where H2BuDea is N-butyldiethanolamine, HEBA is 2-ethylbutyric acid and HDMBA is 2,2-dimethylbutyric acid. The compounds have been prepared through self-assembly reactions of manganese(ii) chloride with H2BuDea and respective carboxylic acid in methanol solution in air, affording 1 with HEBA, and 2 or 3 with HDMBA, depending on the experimental conditions. The single crystal X-ray analysis reveals that 1 and 2 have similar centrosymmetric structures based on the {M4(μ3-O)2(μ-O)4} core, while 3 discloses the unprecedented {M11(μ-O)4(μ3-O)12} one. The Mn4 complexes display single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior with a S = 9 spin ground state and a high energy barrier Ueff/kB of up to 51 K. The magnetic properties of 2 are successfully modeled with JMnIII-MnIII/hc = 25.7 cm-1 and two JMnIII-MnII/hc constants of 3.1 and -0.93 cm-1 (data correspond to the Ĥ = -Jŝ1·ŝ2 formalism). The Mn11 cluster exhibits a paramagnetic behavior with dominant antiferromagnetic coupling. A possible influence of intermolecular effects and of different peripheries of the magnetic cores designed by using 2-ethylbutyrate (in 1) or 2,2-dimethylbutyrate (in 2) on the magnetic properties of 1 and 2 is discussed. The experimental magnetostructural correlations for the {MnII2MnIII2(μ3-O)2(μ-O)4} cores, supported by broken symmetry DFT calculations, disclose the X-MnIIIMnIII angle and MnIII-O distance (where MnIII-X and MnIII-O are axial Jahn-Teller bonds) as the structural factors having the strongest influence on JMnIII-MnIII exchange coupling. It is shown that two JMnIII-MnII constants are necessary for the correct description of magnetic exchange couplings in the {MnII2MnIII2(μ3-O)2(μ-O)4} tetranuclear unit.

Field-Assisted Slow Magnetic Relaxation in a Six-Coordinate Co(II)-Co(III) Complex with Large Negative Anisotropy

The reaction of Co(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O with the Schiff base ligand LH₄ derived from o-vanillin and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane produces the dinuclear mixed-valence complex [Co^IICo^III(LH₂)₂(CH₃COO)(H₂O)](H₂O)₃ (1), which has been investigated using IR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, HFEPR spectroscopy, and ac susceptibility measurements at various frequencies, temperatures, and external magnetic fields. The structure of 1 consists of neutral molecules in which two cobalt ions with distorted octahedral geometries, Co^IIO₆ and Co^IIIN₂O₄, are bridged by two deprotonated -CH₂O^- groups of the two LH₂^2- ligands. 1 completes a series with Cl, Br, NO₃, and NCS anions published before by different authors. Low-temperature HFEPR measurements reveal that the ground electronic state of the Co(II) center in 1 is a highly anisotropic Kramers doublet; the effective g values of 7.18, 2.97, and 1.96 are frequency-independent over the frequency ranges 200-630, 200-406, and 200-300 GHz for the highest, intermediate, and lowest g_eff values, respectively. The two lower values were not seen at higher frequencies because the magnetic field was not high enough. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility and field-dependent magnetization data confirm high magnetic anisotropy of the easy axis type. Complex 1 behaves as a single-ion magnet under a small applied external field and demonstrates two relaxation modes that strongly depend on the applied static dc field. The observation of multiple relaxation pathways clearly distinguishes 1 from the Cl and Br analogues.

Accelerated Oxygen Atom Transfer and C-H Bond Oxygenation by Remote Redox Changes in Fe3 Mn-Iodosobenzene Adducts

We report the synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of [LFe₃ (PhPz)₃ OMn(^s PhIO)][OTf]_x (3: x=2; 4: x=3), where 4 is one of very few examples of iodosobenzene-metal adducts characterized by X-ray crystallography. Access to these rare heterometallic clusters enabled differentiation of the metal centers involved in oxygen atom transfer (Mn) or redox modulation (Fe). Specifically, ⁵⁷ Fe Mössbauer and X-ray absorption spectroscopy provided unique insights into how changes in oxidation state (Fe^III₂ Fe^II Mn^II vs. Fe^III₃ Mn^II ) influence oxygen atom transfer in tetranuclear Fe₃ Mn clusters. In particular, a one-electron redox change at a distal metal site leads to a change in oxygen atom transfer reactivity by ca. two orders of magnitude.