New Copper Complexes with N,O-Donor Ligands Based on Pyrazole Moieties Supported by 3-Substituted Acetylacetone Scaffolds

The new 3-monosubstituted acetylacetone ligands, 3-(phenyl(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methyl)pentane-2,4-dione (HLacPz) and 3-((3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)(phenyl)methyl)pentane-2,4-dione (HLacPzMe), were synthesized and used as supporting ligands for new copper(II) and copper(I) phosphane complexes of the general formulae [Cu(HLacX)2(LacX)2] and [Cu(PPh3)2(HLacX)]PF6 (X = Pz (pyrazole) or PzMe (3,5-dimethylpyrazole)), respectively. In the syntheses of the Cu(I) complexes, the triphenylphosphine coligand (PPh3) was used to stabilize copper in the +1 oxidation state, avoiding oxidation to Cu(II). All compounds were characterized by CHN analysis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The ligands HLacPz (1) and HLacPzMe (2) and the copper complex [Cu(PPh3)2(HLacPz)]PF6 (3) were also characterized by X-ray crystallography. The reactivity of these new compounds was investigated and the new compounds 4-phenyl-4-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)butan-2-one (7) and 4-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-4-phenylbutan-2-one (8) were obtained in basic conditions via the retro-Claisen reaction of related 3-monosubstituted acetylacetone, providing efficient access to synthetically useful ketone compounds. Compound 8 was also characterized by X-ray crystallography.

A Rigid Linker for Site-Selective Coordination of Transition Metal Cations: Combining an Acetylacetone with a Caged Phosphine

The combination of a soft phosphorus and a hard oxygen donor in the new ligand HacacTRIP leads to excellent site selectivity for the coordination of two different metal cations of matching Pearson character. The deprotonation step required for coordinating the acetylacetone oxygen donor further increases the selectivity. In contrast to most phosphines, the use of the caged phosphatriptycene motif enables a rigid and directional orientation of the phosphorus binding site which is required to form stable coordination network structures. In addition to the synthesis of HacacTRIP, we present its selective coordination. The deprotonated acetylacetone was selectively bound to Cu^II and Fe^III. The solid state structure of the former displays a rare axial coordination of chloroform molecules. The phosphorus donor was selectively coordinated to the monovalent coinage metal cations Cu^I, Ag^I, and Au^I. The Cu^I and Ag^I complexes represent the first examples in which a phosphatriptycene is bound to these metal cations. Heterometallic coordination compounds were characterized with combinations of these two groups. They comprise an oligonuclear Cu^I/Cu^II mixed-valence compound in which iodide binds to both Cu^I and Cu^II cations and a complex in which acacTRIP^- bridges Cu^II and Au^I. In addition to these discrete aggregates, the ligand has been used to link Fe^III and Ag^I into a 2D coordination polymer with unprecedented trigonal planar coordination of three bulky phosphatriptycenes to a cation and resulting honeycomb topology. Its almost regular hexagons underline the desired rigidity of the ditopic acacTRIP^- ligand.

Weaving a 2D net of hydrogen and halogen bonds: cocrystal of a pyrazolium bromide with tetrafluorodiiodobenzene

Hydrohalides of Lewis bases may act as halogen bond (XB) acceptors and combine two directional interactions, namely, hydrogen bonds (HB) and XBs in the same solid. 3-(1,3,5-Trimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)acetylacetone (C11H16N2O2, HacacMePz) was protonated with HX (X = Cl or Br) to afford the hydrohalides, C11H17N2O2 +·X − or H2acacMePz+·X − (1, X = Cl; 2, X = Br). Hydrohalides 1 and 2 are isomorphous and adopt a classical dipole packing. Consistent with the observation for most β-diketones, the enol form with an intramolecular HB is observed. Additional noteworthy interactions are HBs of the protonated pyrazolium towards the X − anion at donor–acceptor distances of 2.9671 (17) Å for 1 and 3.159 (4) Å for 2. Cocrystallization of hydrobromide 2 with the XB donor tetrafluorodiiodobenzene (TFDIB) leads to the adduct C11H17N2O2 +·Br−·0.5C6F4I2·H2O or (H2acacMePz+·Br−)2·(H2O)2·TFDIB (3), in which the XB donor TFDIB is situated on a crystallographic centre of inversion. Classical HBs link organic cations, water molecules and Br− anions into chains along [010]. Almost orthogonal to this interaction, XBs with Br...I = 3.2956 (4) Å connect neighbouring chains along [102] into two-dimensional sheets in the (10\overline{2}) plane. Assisted by their negative charge, halide anions represent particularly good nucleophiles towards XB donors.

Structural Diversity of Silver Fluorinated β-Diketonates: Effect of the Terminal Substituent and Solvent

In order to demonstrate the role of the fluorination and some solvents in the structural organization of the Ag(I) coordination polymers with β-diketonate ligands (R¹C(O)C_αHC(O)R²)⁻ we synthesized a series of the compounds containing tfac- (R₁ = CH₃, R² = CF₃) and pfpac- (R₁ = CH₃, R² = C₂F₅) anions. Solvent-free [Ag(L)]_∞ (L = tfac 1, pfpac 2) compounds and the corresponding acetonitrile and toluene adducts have been characterized by elemental analysis and/or NMR, IR and single-crystal XRD. This series includes five new coordination polymers. Compound 1 is a 3D coordination framework based on Ag–O_{chelate/bridge}, Ag–C_α bonds, and argentophilic interactions. An increase in the fluorinated group leads to a chain coordination polymer 2 of an unusual structural organization. These chains can be represented as a “DNA-type”, where two intertwined helices based on Ag–O_chelate and Ag–C_α bonds are connected through Ag–O_bridge ones. Two structural types of chain coordination polymers, [Ag(tfac)(CH₃CN)] and [Ag₂(L)₂(solvent)], have been revealed for the adducts. The latter structural type differs significantly from the previously studied toluene and acetonitrile adducts of fluorinated Ag(I) β-diketonates of the same stoichiometry. Thermal analysis in helium showed that both 1 and 2 decompose to metallic silver with the compound of pfpac-ligand being slightly more stable.

Phosphorus or Nitrogen - The first Phosphatriptycene in Coordination Polymer Chemistry

Phosphasilatriptycene, a phenylene spacer and a pyridyl moiety represent the building blocks of TRIP-Py, the first heteroditopic ligand featuring a phoshatriptycene scaffold. The P and N donor sites located at...

Synthesis and coordination to the coinage metals of a trimethylpyrazolyl substituted 3-arylacetylacetone

The ligand 3-(4-(1,3,5-trimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)phenyl)acetylacetone (1) combines a Pearson hard O,O′ chelating acetylacetone donor with a softer pyrazole N donor bridged by a phenylene spacer. Deprotonation and coordination to CuII leads to a square planar bis-acetylacetonato complex; interpreting the close proximity of an adjacent complex’s pyrazole moiety as an η 2 ${{\eta}}^{2}$ coordination to the axial CuII position leads to a two dimensional extended structure. The N donor capabilities are proven by coordination to AgPF6 and AuCl; for AgI a cationic linear bis-pyrazole complex as a toluene solvate is obtained with toluene-pyrazole π-interactions and an essentially uncoordinated PF 6 - ${{\mathrm{PF}}_{6}}^{-}$ anion. In the case of AuCl a neutral linear coordination compound with one chlorido and one pyrazole ligand 1 is obtained. Comparing the dihedral angles with a closely related but shorter ligand reveals a larger rotational degree of freedom in 1, allowing for richer architectures in emerging coordination polymers.

Crystal structure of (E)-3-((4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)thio)-4-hydroxypent-3-en-2-one, C15H20O2S

C15H20O2S, monoclinic, P21/c (No. 14), a = 12.8520(8) Å, b = 10.5864(8) Å, c = 11.2202(7) Å, β = 104.375(7)°, V = 1478.78(18) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0655, wR ref (F 2) = 0.1781, T = 293 K.

Hydrogen-Bonded and Halogen-Bonded: Orthogonal Interactions for the Chloride Anion of a Pyrazolium Salt

In the hydrochloride of a pyrazolyl-substituted acetylacetone, the chloride anion is hydrogen-bonded to the protonated pyrazolyl moiety. Equimolar co-crystallization with tetrafluorodiiodobenzene (TFDIB) leads to a supramolecular aggregate in which TFDIB is situated on a crystallographic center of inversion. The iodine atom in the asymmetric unit acts as halogen bond donor, and the chloride acceptor approaches the σ-hole of this TFDIB iodine subtending an almost linear halogen bond, with Cl···I = 3.1653(11) Å and Cl···I-C = 179.32(6)°. This contact is roughly orthogonal to the N-H···Cl hydrogen bond. An analysis of the electron density according to Bader's Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules confirms bond critical points (bcps) for both short contacts, with ρbcp = 0.129 for the halogen and 0.321eÅ-3 for the hydrogen bond. Our halogen-bonded adduct represents the prototype for a future class of co-crystals with tunable electron density distribution about the σ-hole contact.

3-(4-Methylthiophenyl)acetylacetone – ups and downs of flexibility in the synthesis of mixed metal–organic frameworks. Ditopic bridging of hard and soft cations and site-specific desolvation

Different Pearson-hardness of O and S donors leads to well-ordered mixed metal–organic frameworks.

Absolute structure of the chiral pyrrolidine derivative (2S)-methyl (Z)-5-(2-tert-butoxy-1-cyano-2-oxoethylidene)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylate, a compound with low resonant scattering

The enantiopure monopyrrolidine derivative (2S)-methyl (Z)-5-(2-tert-butoxy-1-cyano-2-oxoethylidene)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylate, C13H18N2O4, (1), represents a potential ligand and an attractive intermediate for the synthesis of chiral metal complexes. At the molecular level, the compound features an intramolecular N-H...O hydrogen bond; neighbouring molecules interact via N-H...N contacts to form chains along [100]. Due to its elemental composition, resonant scattering of the target compound is entirely insignificant for diffraction experiments with Mo Kα and small even for Cu Kα radiation. A preliminary study with the harder radiation type confirmed the chiral space group and the suitability of the single crystal chosen; as expected, the results concerning the absolute structure remained completely inconclusive. A second data collection with the longer wavelength gave satisfactory quality indicators for the correct handedness of the molecule, albeit with high standard uncertainties. The absolute configuration has been assessed independently: CD spectra for both enantiomers of the target molecule were calculated and the spectrum for the S-configured stereoisomer was in agreement with the experiment. The Cotton effect of (1) may be ascribed to π-π* transitions from HOMO to LUMO and from HOMO to LUMO+1. As both independent techniques agree with respect to the handedness of the target molecule, the absolute structure may be assigned with a high degree of confidence.

The many flavours of halogen bonds - message from experimental electron density and Raman spectroscopy

Experimental electron-density studies based on high-resolution diffraction experiments allow halogen bonds between heavy halogens to be classified. The topological properties of the electron density in Cl...Cl contacts vary smoothly as a function of the interaction distance. The situation is less straightforward for halogen bonds between iodine and small electronegative nucleophiles, such as nitrogen or oxygen, where the electron density in the bond critical point does not simply increase for shorter distances. The number of successful charge-density studies involving iodine is small, but at least individual examples for three cases have been observed. (a) Very short halogen bonds between electron-rich nucleophiles and heavy halogen atoms resemble three-centre-four-electron bonds, with a rather symmetric heavy halogen and without an appreciable σ hole. (b) For a narrow intermediate range of halogen bonds, the asymmetric electronic situation for the heavy halogen with a pronounced σ hole leads to rather low electron density in the (3,-1) critical point of the halogen bond; the properties of this bond critical point cannot fully describe the nature of the associated interaction. (c) For longer and presumably weaker contacts, the electron density in the halogen bond critical point is only to a minor extent reduced by the presence of the σ hole and hence may be higher than in the aforementioned case. In addition to the electron density and its derived properties, the halogen-carbon bond distance opposite to the σ hole and the Raman frequency for the associated vibration emerge as alternative criteria to gauge the halogen-bond strength. We find exceptionally long C-I distances for tetrafluorodiiodobenzene molecules in cocrystals with short halogen bonds and a significant red shift for their Raman vibrations.

Argentophilic Interactions in Two AgI Complexes of 3-(2-(Pyridin-4-yl)ethyl)pentane-2,4-dione, a Promising Ditopic Ligand

Reactions of 3-(2-(pyridin-4-yl)ethyl)pentane-2,4-dione (HacacPyen) with AgPF6 and AgBF4 afforded cationic silver complexes [Ag(HacacPyen)2]+ with essentially linear coordination of the Ag I cation by two pyridine N atoms. Rather unexpectedly, the HacacPyen ligands in the PF6- salt 1 adopt the diketo form, in contrast to the uncoordinated HacacPyen molecule, whereas the corresponding BF4- salt 2 and the majority of 3-substituted acetylacetones crystallizes as the enol tautomer. In both compounds 1 and 2, complex cations aggregate via short Ag...Ag interactions to pairs. These contacts amount to 3 . 21 Å in 1 and 3 . 26 Å or 3 . 31 Å in 2. As they are unsupported by any additional bridging ligands and correspond to the closest interionic interactions between neighbouring complex cations, they may be addressed as argentophilic interactions. The PF6- anions in 1 and the BF4- counter ions in 2 are involved in long and presumably electrostatic Ag...F contacts of ca. 2 . 9 Å. Additional coordination between Ag I and keto O atoms of symmetry-equivalent ligands occurs in 1 and leads to an extended two-periodic supramolecular structure.

Proton disorder in a short intramolecular hydrogen bond investigated by single-crystal neutron diffraction at 2.5 and 170 K

The substituted acetylacetone 3-[2-(pyridin-4-yl)ethyl]pentane-2,4-dione, C₁₂H₁₅NO₂, (1), with an ethylene bridge between the acetylacetone moiety and the heteroaromatic ring, represents an attractive linker for mixed-metal coordination polymers. In the crystal, (1) adopts an antiperiplanar conformation with respect to the C-C bond in the central ethylene group and almost coplanar acetylacetone and pyridyl groups. The ditopic molecule exists as the enol tautomer, with proton disorder in the short intramolecular hydrogen bond. Single-crystal neutron diffraction at 2.5 K indicated site occupancies of 0.602 (17) and 0.398 (17). The geometry of the acetylacetone moiety is in agreement with such a site preference of the bridging hydrogen: the O atom associated with the preferred H-atom site subtends the longer [1.305 (2) Å] and the more carbonyl-like O atom the shorter [1.288 (2) Å] C-O bond. Based on structure-factor calculations for the alternative H-atom sites, reflections particularly sensitive for proton distribution were identified and measured in a second neutron data collection at 170 K. At this temperature, 546 independent neutron intensities were used to refine positional and isotropic displacement parameters for a structure model in which parameters for C and O atoms were constrained to those obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at the same temperature. The site occupancies for the disordered proton do not significantly differ from those at 2.5 K.