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57 Fe nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) has been applied to study a series of tetranuclear iron ([Fe 4 ]) clusters based on a multidentate ligand platform (L 3- ) anchored by a 1,3,5-triarylbenzene linker and pyrazolate or ( tert butylamino)pyrazolate ligand (PzNH t Bu - ). These clusters bear a terminal Fe(iii)-O/OH moiety at the apical position and three additional iron centers forming the basal positions. The three basal irons are connected with the apical iron center via a μ 4 -oxido ligand. Detailed vibrational analysis via density functional theory calculations revealed that strong NRVS spectral features below 400 cm -1 can be used as an oxidation state marker for the overall [Fe 4 ] cluster core. The terminal Fe(iii)-O/OH stretching frequencies, which were observed in the range of 500-700 cm -1 , can be strongly modulated (energy shifts of 20-40 cm -1 were observed) upon redox events at the three remote basal iron centers of the [Fe 4 ] cluster without the change of the terminal Fe(iii) oxidation state and its coordination environment. Therefore, the current study provides a quantitative vibrational analysis of how the remote iron centers within the same iron cluster exert exquisite control of the chemical reactivities and thermodynamic properties of the specific iron site that is responsible for small molecule activation., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

C -Nitroso compounds (RNO, R = alkyl and aryl) are byproducts of drug metabolism and bind to heme proteins, and their heme-RNO adducts are isoelectronic to ferrous nitroxyl (NO - /HNO) complexes. Importantly, heme-HNO compounds are key intermediates in the reduction of NO to N 2 O and nitrite to ammonium in the nitrogen cycle. Ferrous heme-RNO complexes act as stable analogs of these species, potentially allowing for the investigation of the vibrational and electronic properties of unstable heme-HNO intermediates. In this paper, a series of six-coordinate ferrous heme-RNO complexes (where R = iPr and Ph) were prepared using the TPP 2- and 3,5-Me-BAFP 2- co-ligands, and tetrahydrofuran, pyridine, and 1-methylimidazole as the axial ligands (bound trans to RNO). These complexes were characterized using different spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. The complex [Fe(TPP)(THF)(iPrNO)] was further utilized for nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS), allowing for the detailed assignment of the Fe-N(R)O vibrations of a heme-RNO complex for the first time. The vibrational properties of these species were then correlated with those of their HNO analogs, using DFT calculations. Our studies support previous findings that RNO ligands in ferrous heme complexes do not elicit a significant trans effect. In addition, the complexes are air-stable, and do not show any reactivity of their RNO ligands towards NO. So although ferrous heme-RNO complexes are suitable structural and electronic models for their HNO analogs, they are unsuitable to model the reactivity of heme-HNO complexes. We further investigated the reaction of our heme-RNO complexes with different Lewis acids. Here, [Fe(TPP)(THF)(iPrNO)] was found to be unreactive towards Lewis acids. In contrast, [Fe(3,5-Me-BAFP)(iPrNO) 2 ] is reactive towards all of the Lewis acids investigated here, but in most cases the iron center is simply oxidized, resulting in the loss of the iPrNO ligand. In the case of the Lewis acid B 2 (pin) 2 , the reduced product [Fe(3,5-Me-BAFP)(iPrNH 2 )(iPrNO)] was identified by X-ray crystallography.

High valent iron terminal imido species (Fe[double bond, length as m-dash]NR) have been shown to be key reactive intermediates in C-H functionalization. However, the detailed structure-reactivity relationship in Fe[double bond, length as m-dash]NR species derived from studies of structurally well-characterized high-valent Fe[double bond, length as m-dash]NR complexes are still scarce, and the impact of imido N-substituents (electron-donating vs. electron-withdrawing) on their electronic structures and reactivities has not been thoroughly explored. In this study, we report spectroscopic and computational studies on a rare S = 1 iron(iv)-bisimido complex featuring trifluoromethyl groups on the imido N-substituents, [(IPr)Fe(NC(CF 3 ) 2 Ph) 2 ] (2), and two closely related S = 0 congeners bearing alkyl and aryl substituents, [(IPr)Fe(NC(CMe 3 ) 2 Ph) 2 ] (3) and [(IPr)Fe(NDipp) 2 ] (1), respectively. Compared with 1 and 3, 2 exhibits a decreased Fe[double bond, length as m-dash]NR bond covalency due to the electron-withdrawing and the steric effect of the N-substituents, which further leads to a pseudo doubly degenerate ground electronic structure and spin polarization induced β spin density on the imido nitrogens. This unique electronic structure, which differs from those of the well-studied Fe(iv)-oxido complexes and many previously reported Fe(iv)-imido complexes, provides both kinetic and thermodynamic advantages for facile C-H activation, compared to the S = 0 counterparts., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

We have performed and analyzed the first combined 151 Eu and 57 Fe nuclear resonant vibrational spectroscopy (NRVS) for naturally abundant KEu(III)[Fe(II)(CN) 6 ] and Eu(III)[Fe(III)(CN) 6 ] complexes. Comparison of the observed 151 Eu vs. 57 Fe NRVS spectroscopic features confirms that Eu(III) in both KEu(III)[Fe(II)(CN) 6 ] and Eu(III)[Fe(III)(CN) 6 ] occupies a position outside the [Fe(CN) 6 ] core and coordinates to the N atoms of the CN - ions, whereas Fe(III) or Fe(II) occupies the site inside the [Fe(CN) 6 ] 4- core and coordinates to the C atoms of the CN - ions. In addition to the spectroscopic interest, the results from this study provide invaluable insights for the design and evaluation of the nanoparticles of such complexes as potential cellular contrast agents for their use in magnetic resonance imaging. The combined 151 Eu and 57 Fe NRVS measurements are also among the first few explorations of bi-isotopic NRVS experiments.

The spin state in heterobimetallic complexes heavily influences both reactivity and magnetism. Exerting control over spin states in main group-based heterobimetallics requires a different approach as the orbital interactions can differ substantially from that of classic coordination complexes. By deliberately engendering an energetic mismatch within the two metals in a bimetallic complex we can mimic the electronic structure of lanthanides. Towards this end, we report a new family of complexes, [ Ph,Me TpMSnPh 3 ] where M = Mn ( 3 ), Fe ( 4 ), Co ( 5 ), Ni ( 6 ), Zn ( 7 ), featuring unsupported bonding between a transition metal and Sn which represent an unusual high spin electronic structure. Analysis of the frontier orbitals reveal the desired orbital mismatch with Sn 5s/5p primarily interacting with 4s/4p M orbitals yielding localized, non-bonding d orbitals. This approach offers a mechanism to design and control spin states in bimetallic complexes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Complexes of the type (NHC)M-Fp (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene, M = Cu or ZnCl, Fp = FeCp(CO)2) have been used recently as replacements for noble metal C-H functionalization catalysts and for small molecule activation studies. The promising reactivity of these systems has been linked to the use of the late metal electrophiles Cu and Zn in place of early metal electrophiles, and also to the ability of the M-Fe pairs to cooperate during catalytically relevant multielectron redox processes such as bimetallic oxidative addition and bimetallic reductive elimination. Using Mössbauer spectroscopy and metal K-edge XANES analysis, a detailed electronic structure description of these complexes is presented. One unusual feature of the late-metal M-Fp interactions is the presence of significant M → Fe π-backdonation in addition to Fe → M σ-donation; this π-backdonation is absent in early metal analogues and is apparent from analysis of Mössbauer data and Fe K-edge data. Multi-edge XANES analysis of C-I bimetallic oxidative addition at a Cu-Fe reaction center reveals little change in metal effective nuclear charges during the two-electron redox process. IR spectroscopy indicates that the supporting carbonyl ligands participate to a large extent in the redox process.

Advanced spectroscopic techniques coupled with DFT calculations reveal the vibrational dynamics of the iron in stable dioxygen complexes with myoglobin and with a mutant engineered to model the catalytic site of heme-copper oxidases. The unprecedented level of detail will constrain computational modelling of reactions with oxygen.