Liliya Simkhovich

Synthesis and Characterization of Germanium, Tin, Phosphorus, Iron, and Rhodium Complexes of Tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole, and the Utilization of the Iron and Rhodium Corroles as Cyclopropanation Catalysts

The germanium(IV), tin(IV). and phosphorus(v) complexes of tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole were prepared and investigated by electrochemistry for elucidation of the electrochemical HOMO-LUMO gap of the corrole and the spectroscopic characteristics of the corrole pi radical cation. This information was found to be highly valuable for assigning the oxidation states in the various iron corroles that were prepared. Two iron corroles and the rhodium(I) complex of an N-substituted corrole were fully characterized by X-ray crystallography and all the transition metal corroles were examined as cyclopropanation catalysts. All iron (except the NO-ligated) and rhodium corroles are excellent catalysts for cyclopropanation of styrene, with the latter displaying superior selectivities. An investigation of the effect of the oxidation state of the metal and its ligands leads to the conclusion that for iron corroles the catalytically active form is iron(III), while all accesible oxidation states of rhodium are active.

Structural, Electrochemical, and Photophysical Properties of Gallium(III) 5,10,15-Tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole

High quantum yields are found for the prototype metallocorrole 1, which is readily prepared from GaCl_3 and tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole. The crystallographic and electronic structures of 1 are reported as well as the simple generation of its π-cation radical complex by chemical oxidation and the characteristic spectroscopic features of this ion.

Iron(IV) corroles are potent catalysts for aziridination of olefins by Chloramine-T

Iron(III) corroles were found to be more selective catalysts than analogous porphyrins for the aziridination of olefins by PhINTs, and, most important, the iron(IV) corrole 1 displays the unique ability of utilizing Chloramine-T as nitrogen atom source.

The Electronic Structure of Iron Corroles: A Combined Experimental and Quantum Chemical Study

There is a longstanding debate in the literature on the electronic structure of chloroiron corroles, especially for those containing the highly electron-withdrawing meso-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole (TPFC) ligand. Two alternative electronic structures were proposed for this and the related [FeCl(tdcc)] (TDCC=meso-tris(2,6-dichlorophenyl)corrole) complex, namely a high-valent ferryl species chelated by a trianionic corrolato ligand ([Fe(IV)(Cor)(3-)](+)) or an intermediate-spin (IS) ferric ion that is antiferromagnetically coupled to a dianionic pi-radical corrole ([Fe(III)(Cor)(.2-)](+)) yielding an overall triplet ground state. Two series of corrole-based iron complexes ([Fe(L)(Cor)], in which L=F, Cl, Br, I, and Cor=TPFC, TDCC) have been investigated by a combined experimental (Mössbauer spectroscopy) and computational (DFT) approach in order to differentiate between the two possible electronic-structure descriptions. The experimentally calibrated conclusions were reached by a detailed analysis of the Kohn-Sham solutions, which successfully reproduce the experimental structures and spectroscopic parameters: the electronic structures of [Fe(L)(Cor)] (L=F, Cl, Br, I, Cor=TPFC, TDCC) are best formulated as ([IS-Fe(III)(Cor)(.2-)](+)), similar to chloroiron corrole complexes containing electron-rich corrole ligands. The antiferromagnetic pathway is composed of singly occupied Fe d(z(2) ) and corrole a(2u)-like pi orbitals, with coupling constants that exceed those of analogous porphyrin systems by a factor of 2-3. In the corroles, the combination of lower symmetry, extra negative charge, and smaller cavity size (relative to the porphyrins) leads to exceptionally strong iron-corrole sigma bonds. Hence, the Fe d(x(2)-y(2) )-based molecular orbital is unavailable in the corrole complexes (contrary to the porphyrin case), and the local spin states are S(Fe)=3/2 in the corroles versus S(Fe)=5/2 in the porphyrins. The consequences of this qualitative difference are discussed for spin distributions and magnetic properties.

METALLOPORPHYRIN CATALYZED ASYMMETRIC CYCLOPROPANATION OF OLEFINS

Abstract Asymmetric cyclopropanation of styrene by an enantiopure carbenoid under catalysis by simple metalloporphyrins was found to be much more efficient and selective than the alternative approach, the combination of metal complexes of enantiopure porphyrins and a non-chiral diazoester.

First syntheses and X-ray structures of a meso-alkyl-substituted corrole and its Ga(III) complex.

The solvent-free condensation of heptafluorobutanal and pyrrole leads to the corresponding meso-alkyl-substituted corrole, which was metallated by gallium chloride to provide the first first-row non-transition-metal corrole. Both the ligand and the complex were characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Exploring the photoexcited triplet states of aluminum and tin corroles by time-resolved Q-band EPR

The photoexcited triplet states of three 5,10, 15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corroles (tpfc), hosting Sn(IV) and Al(III) in their core, namely, Sn(Cl)(tpfc), Al(pyr)2(tpfc) and Al(pyr)2(tpfc-Br8), were studied by time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy in the nematic liquid crystal E7. Only two of these metallocorroles, namely, Sn(Cl)(tpfc) and Al(pyr)2(tpfc-Br8), exhibit TREPR spectra following pulsed laser excitation. This result is rationalized in terms of a very low quantum yield of triplet formation in Al(pyr)2(tpfc). Analysis of the spin polarized Q-band (34 GHz) EPR spectra of Sn(Cl)(tpfc) and Al(pyr)2(tpfc-Br8) provides detailed information on the magnetic and kinetic parameters of the triplet states as well as on the molecular ordering of the complexes in the liquid crystal. With the assignment of the zero-field splitting parameterD<0 for the Sn(Cl)(tpfc) and Al(pyr)2(tpfc-Br8), one can evaluate the dominant intersystem crossing path for these metallocorroles. Analysis reveals that in Sn(Cl)(tpfc) the in-plane triplet sublevels are preferentially populated, i.e.,AX, AY≫AZ. This can be rationalized in terms of weak electronic interactions between the Sn(IV) ion and the corrole π-system, consistent with the domed structure of Sn(Cl)(tpfc). In Al(pyr)2(tpfc-Br8), however, the out-of-plane triplet sublevel is predominantly populated, i.e.,AZ>AX, AY, which is attributed to a large increase in the spin-orbit coupling strength arising from the peripheral bromine atoms on the corrole skeleton.

Reaction profile of the last step in cytochrome P-450 catalysis revealed by studies of model complexes

Abstract A series of oxoiron(IV) porphyrin cation radical complexes was investigated as compound I analogs of cytochrome P-450. Both the spectroscopic features and the reactivities of the complexes in oxygen atom transfer to olefins were examined as a function of only one variable, the axial ligand trans to the oxoiron(IV) bond. The results disclosed two important kinetic steps – electron transfer from olefin to oxoiron(IV) and intramolecular electron transfer from metal to porphyrin radical – which are affected differently by the axial ligands. The large kinetic barrier of the latter step in the reaction of olefins with the perchlorato-bound oxoiron(IV) porphyrin cation radical complex enabled the trapping of a reaction intermediate in which the metal, but not the porphyrin radical, is reduced. The first electron transfer step is probably followed by σ-bond formation, which readily accounts for formation of isomerized organic products at low temperatures. It is finally postulated that part of the enhanced oxygenation activities of cytochrome P-450 monooxygenases and chloroperoxidases is due to a lowering of the energy barrier for the second electron transfer step via participation of their redox-active cysteinate ligand.

Hydroxylation of simple alkanes by iodosylbenzene is catalyzed more efficiently by second than by third generation iron(III) porphyrins

Abstract The catalytic activities of aryl-chlorinated iron tetraarylporphyrins with and without chloro substituents at the β-pyrrole positions—third and second generation catalysts, respectively—were compared for the hydroxylation of ethylbenzene and cyclohexane by iodosylbenzene. The results reveal that despite the somewhat larger stability of the former complexes to the oxidative reaction conditions, they are less efficient catalysts than the corresponding unsubstituted complexes, which catalyze the transformation of the alkanes into their oxygenated products with almost 80% yield at more than 10% conversion. It is proposed that for the third generation catalyst the extremely short life time of the most potent intermediate is responsible for the relatively low efficiency in catalysis.

Structure and Chemistry of N‐Substituted Corroles and Their Rhodium(I) and Zinc(II) Metal‐Ion Complexes

In the present work we report on the detailed structural features of the chiral N21- and N22-substituted benzyl and picolyl derivatives of tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole [H3(tpfc)]. The main difference between the isomers is that substitution on N22 creates a much more crowded environment, reflected in higher deformation of the corrole ring from planarity and of the meso-aryls from perpendicular orientation. The effects of metal-ion chelation on corrole geometry are demonstrated by structural investigations of the zinc(II) and rhodium(I) complexes of the N21- and N22-alkylated corroles. The major finding is the intramolecular coordination of the pyridine moiety of the picolyl substituent in the case of [ZnII(N21-picolyl-tpfc)]. This pyridine is readily attracted to the zinc ion as an axial ligand, thus replacing the external pyridine molecule of the precursor [ZnII(N21-benzyl-tpfc)(py)]. The change is associated with a considerable flattening of the corrole ring in order to allow a more convenient coordination of the zinc ion to all four pyrrole nitrogen atoms (at Zn-N(pyr-role) distances of 1.956-1.987 A for the nonsubstituted sites, and 2.224-2.247 A for the substituted sites). These structural investigations also aid a good understanding of the spectroscopic characteristics of the derivatives.