Lakshmi Kanta Das

Synthesis, Crystal Structures, Magnetic Properties and Catecholase Activity of Double Phenoxido-Bridged Penta-Coordinated Dinuclear Nickel(II) Complexes Derived from Reduced Schiff-Base Ligands: Mechanistic Inference of Catecholase Activity

Three double phenoxido-bridged dinuclear nickel(II) complexes, namely [Ni(2)(L(1))(2)(NCS)(2)] (1), [Ni(2)(L(2))(2)(NCS)(2)] (2), and [Ni(2)(L(3))(2)(NCS)(2)] (3) have been synthesized using the reduced tridentate Schiff-base ligands 2-[1-(3-methylamino-propylamino)-ethyl]-phenol (HL(1)), 2-[1-(2-dimethylamino-ethylamino)-ethyl]-phenol (HL(2)), and 2-[1-(3-dimethylamino-propylamino)-ethyl]-phenol (HL(3)), respectively. The coordination compounds have been characterized by X-ray structural analyses, magnetic-susceptibility measurements, and various spectroscopic methods. In all complexes, the nickel(II) ions are penta-coordinated in a square-pyramidal environment, which is severely distorted in the case of 1 (Addison parameter τ = 0.47) and 3 (τ = 0.29), while it is almost perfect for 2 (τ = 0.03). This arrangement leads to relatively strong antiferromagnetic interactions between the Ni(II) (S = 1) metal centers as mediated by double phenoxido bridges (with J values of -23.32 (1), -35.45 (2), and -34.02 (3) cm(3) K mol(-1), in the convention H = -2JS(1)S(2)). The catalytic activity of these Ni compounds has been investigated for the aerial oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol. Kinetic data analysis following Michaelis-Menten treatment reveals that the catecholase activity of the complexes is influenced by the flexibility of the ligand and also by the geometry around the metal ion. Electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) studies (in the positive mode) have been performed for all the coordination compounds in the presence of 3,5-DTBC to characterize potential complex-substrate intermediates. The mass-spectrometry data, corroborated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, suggest that the metal centers are involved in the catecholase activity exhibited by the complexes.

Di-, tri-, and tetranuclear nickel(II) complexes with oximato bridges: magnetism and catecholase-like activity of two tetranuclear complexes possessing rhombic topology.

Oxime-based tridentate Schiff base ligands 3-[2-(diethylamino)ethylimino]butan-2-one oxime (HL(1)) and 3-[3-(dimethylamino)propylimino]butan-2-one oxime (HL(2)) produced the dinuclear complex [Ni2L(1)2](ClO4)2 (1) and trinuclear complex [Ni3(HL(2))3(μ3-O)](ClO4)4·CH3CN (2), respectively, upon reaction with Ni(ClO4)2·6H2O. However, in a slightly alkaline medium, both of the ligands underwent hydrolysis and resulted in tetranuclear complexes [{Ni(deen)(H2O)}2(μ3-OH)2{Ni2(moda)4}](ClO4)2·2CH3CN (3) and [{Ni(dmpn)(CH3CN)2}2(μ3-OH)2{Ni2(moda)4}](ClO4)2·CH3CN (4), where deen = 2-(diethylamino)ethylamine, dmpn = 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine, and modaH = diacetyl monoxime. All four complexes have been structurally characterized. Complex 1 is a centrosymmetric dimer where the square planar nickel(II) atoms are joined solely by the oximato bridges. In complex 2, three square planar nickel atoms form a triangular core through a central oxido (μ3-O) and peripheral oximato bridges. Tetranuclear complexes 3 and 4 consist of four distorted octahedral nickel(II) ions held together in a rhombic chair arrangement by two central μ3-OH and four peripheral oximato bridges. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicated that dinuclear 1 and trinuclear 2 exhibited diamagnetic behavior, while tetranuclear complexes 3 and 4 were found to have dominant antiferromagnetic intramolecular coupling with concomitant ferromagnetic interactions. Despite its singlet ground state, both 3 and 4 serve as useful examples of Kahns model for competing spin interactions. High-frequency EPR studies were also attempted, but no signal was detected, likely due to the large energy gap between the ground and first excited state. Complexes 3 and 4 exhibited excellent catecholase-like activity in the aerial oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol to the corresponding o-quinone, whereas 1 and 2 did not show such catalytic activity. Kinetic data analyses of this oxidation reaction in acetonitrile revealed that the catalytic activity of 3 (kcat = 278.4 h(-1)) was slightly lower than that of 4 (kcat = 300.0 h(-1)). X-band EPR spectroscopy indicated that the reaction proceeded through the formation of iminoxyl-type radicals.