Probing the Donor Properties of Pincer Ligands Using Rhodium Carbonyl Fragments: An Experimental and Computational Case Study.

ABSTRACT: Metal carbonyls are commonly employed probes for quantifying the donor properties of monodentate ligands. With a view to extending this methodology to mer-tridentate "pincer" ligands, the spectroscopic properties [?(CO), ? _13C, ¹ J _RhC] of rhodium(I) and rhodium(III) carbonyl complexes of the form [Rh(pincer)(CO)][BAr^F ₄] and [Rh(pincer)Cl₂(CO)][BAr^F ₄] have been critically analysed for four pyridyl-based pincer ligands, with two flanking oxazoline (NNN), phosphine (PNP), or N-heterocyclic carbene (CNC) donors. Our investigations indicate that the carbonyl bands of the rhodium(I) complexes are the most diagnostic, with frequencies discernibly decreasing in the order NNN > PNP > CNC. To gain deeper insight, a DFT-based energy decomposition analysis was performed and identified important bonding differences associated with the conformation of the pincer backbone, which clouds straightforward interpretation of the experimental IR data. A correlation between the difference in carbonyl stretching frequencies ??(CO) and calculated thermodynamics of the Rh^I/Rh^III redox pairs was identified and could prove to be a useful mechanistic tool.

SUBMITTER: Parker GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6774296 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature