Non-heme FeIV=O complexes supported by four new pentadentate ligands : reactivity towards H- and O-atom transfer processes

Summary, in English

Four new pentadentate N5-donor ligands, [N-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)-methyl-N-(bis-2-pyridylmethyl)-amine] (L1), [N-bis(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)methyl-N-(bis-2-pyridylmethyl)amine] (L2), (N-(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl)-1,1-di(pyridin-2-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)methanamine (L3) and N,N-bis(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl)-1,1-di(pyridin-2-yl)methanamine (L4), have been synthesized based on the N4Py ligand framework, where one or two pyridyl arms of the N4Py parent are replaced by (N-methyl)imidazolyl or N-(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl) moieties. Using these four pentadentate ligands, the mononuclear complexes [FeII(CH3CN)(L1)]2+ (1a), [FeII(CH3CN)(L2)]2+ (2a), [FeII(CH3CN)(L3)]2+ (3a) and [FeII(CH3CN)(L4)]2+ (4a) have been synthesized and characterized. The half-wave potentials (E1/2) of the complexes become more positive in the order: 2a < 1a < 4a  3a  [Fe(N4Py)(CH3CN)]2+. The order of oxidation potentials correlates well with the Fe-Namine distances observed by crystallography, which are 2a  1a  4a  3a  [Fe(N4Py)(CH3CN)]2+. The corresponding ferryl complexes [FeIV(O)(L1)]2+ (1b), [FeIV(O)(L2)]2+ (2b), [FeIV(O)(L3)]2+ (3b), and [FeIV(O)(L4)]2+ (4b) could be prepared by reaction of the ferrous complexes with isopropyl 2-iodoxybenzoate (IBX ester) in acetonitrile. The greenish complexes 3b and 4b could also be isolated in the solid state by reaction of the ferrous complexes in CH3CN with ceric ammonium nitrate in water. Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements (SQUID) show that the four complexes 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b are low-spin (S = 1) FeIV=O complexes. UV/Vis spectra of the four FeIV=O complexes in acetonitrile show typical long wavelength absorptions around 700 nm, which are expected for FeIV=O complexes with N4Py-type ligands. The wavelengths of these absorptions decrease in the following order: 721 nm (2b) > 706 nm (1b) > 696 nm (4b) > 695 nm (3b) = 695 nm ([FeIV(O) (N4Py)]2+), indicating that the replacement of pyridyl arms with (N-methyl) imidazolyl moieties makes L1 and L2 exert weaker ligand fields than the parent N4Py ligand, while the ligand field strengths of L3 and L4 are similar to the N4Py parent despite the replacement of pyridyl arms with N-(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl) moieties. Consequently, complexes 1b and 2b tend to be less stable than the parent [FeIV(O)(N4Py)]2+ complex: the half-life sequence at room temperature is 1.67 h (2b) < 16 h (1b) < 45 h (4b) < 63 h (3b) ≈ 60 h ([FeIV(O)(N4Py)]2+). Compared to the parent complex, 1b and 2b exhibit enhanced reactivity in both oxidation of thioanisole by oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reaction and oxygenation of C-H bonds of aromatic and aliphatic substrates, presumed to occur via an oxygen rebound process. Furthermore, second-order rate constants for hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions affected by the ferryl complexes can be directly related to the C-H bond dissociation energies of a range of substrates that have been studied. Using either IBX ester or H2O2 as oxidant, all four new FeII complexes display good performance in catalytic reactions involving both HAT and OAT reactions.

• Author: Yong Li; Reena Singh; Arup Sinha; George C. Lisensky; Matti Haukka; Justin Nilsson; Solomon Yiga; Serhiy Demeshko; Sophie Jana Gross; Sebastian Dechert; Ana Gonzalez; Giliandro Farias; Ola Wendt; Franc Meyer; Ebbe Nordlander
• Department/s: LTH Profile Area: Nanoscience and Semiconductor Technology; NanoLund: Centre for Nanoscience; LU Profile Area: Light and Materials; Chemical Physics; MAX IV Laboratory; Department of Chemistry; Centre for Analysis and Synthesis
• Publishing year: 2023-11-01
• Language: English
• Pages: 18338-18356
• Publication/Series: Inorganic Chemistry
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 45
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c02526
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: The American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Topic: Inorganic Chemistry
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1520-510X