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Two series of copper(I) complexes with diethoxyphosphoryl-substituted 1,10-phenanthroline ligands were synthesized and characterized in the solid state and in solution. The first comprised mixed-ligand CuI complexes with phenanthroline and triphenylphosphine. The second series includes bis-chelates with two phenanthroline ligands. According to the X-ray data for the six complexes, the ditopic phenanthroline ligands exhibit bidentate coordination to the copper(I) atom through two nitrogen atoms in both series. Solution equilibria involving different phenanthroline copper(I) species were studied by 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and spectroelectrochemistry. The solution speciation of these labile complexes is different for these two series and depends on the nature of solvent and the location of the phosphorus substituent on the phenanthroline backbone. Coordinating solvents can replace a bromide, triphenylphosphine, and even a phenanthroline ligand in the inner coordination sphere of the metal center. Copper(I) complexes with α-substituted phenanthrolines easily dissociate even in noncoordinating solvents such as CH2Cl2 and CHCl3. Ligand-exchange reactions leading to less sterically hindered species were observed under the utilized solution conditions. The coordination mode of the phenanthroline chelators does not change under any of the utilized solution conditions, and binding of the phosphoryl group to the metal center was never observed by spectroscopic or spectroelectrochemical methods.

Four metal complexes of 5,15-bis(diethoxyphosphoryl)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin 1M (M = Cd(II), Ni(II), Pd(II), and Pt(II)) were synthesized and crystallographically characterized. The crystal organization patterns were analyzed using DFT (B97-D3/def2-SVP) calculations of the intermolecular interaction energies between complexes in the crystals. For the systematic analysis of crystal packing, the calculations were extended to previously reported compounds 1M (M = H2, Cu(II), and Zn(II)). Quantitative analysis of the interaction energies shows the essential role of weak intermolecular interactions, such as C-H⋯O, C-H⋯π and M⋯π, in the formation of basic structural motifs and their organization within the crystals. Interplay between the axial coordination and weak intermolecular interactions provides the basis for rationalizing the observed polymorphism and crystals' isomorphism in this series of porphyrin complexes.

Two different methods for the regioselective nitration of different meso-triarylcorroles leading to the corresponding β-substituted nitrocorrole iron complexes have been developed. A two-step procedure affords three Fe(III) nitrosyl products-the unsubstituted corrole, the 3-nitrocorrole, and the 3,17-dinitrocorrole. In contrast, a one-pot synthetic approach drives the reaction almost exclusively to formation of the iron nitrosyl 3,17-dinitrocorrole. Electron-releasing substituents on the meso-aryl groups of the triarylcorroles induce higher yields and longer reaction times than what is observed for the synthesis of similar triarylcorroles with electron-withdrawing functionalities, and these results can be confidently attributed to the facile formation and stabilization of an intermediate iron corrole π-cation radical. Electron-withdrawing substituents on the meso-aryl groups of triarylcorrole also seem to labilize the axial nitrosyl group which, in the case of the pentafluorophenylcorrole derivative, results in the direct formation of a disubstituted iron μ-oxo dimer complex. The influence of meso-aryl substituents on the progress and products of the nitration reaction was investigated. In addition, to elucidate the most important factors which influence the redox reactivity of these different iron nitrosyl complexes, selected compounds were examined by cyclic voltammetry and thin-layer UV-visible or FTIR spectroelectrochemistry in CH 2Cl 2. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Functionalization of the β-pyrrolic positions of the corrole macrocycle with -NO 2 groups is limited at present to metallocorrolates due to the instability exhibited by corrole free bases under oxidizing conditions. A careful choice of the oxidant can limit the transformation of corroles into decomposition products or isocorrole species, preserving the corrole aromaticity, and thus allowing the insertion of nitro groups onto the corrole framework. Here we report results obtained by reacting 5,10,15-tritolylcorrole (TTCorrH 3) with the AgNO 2/ NaNO 2 system, to give mono- and dinitrocorrole derivatives when stoichiometry is carefully controlled. Reactions were found to be regioselective, affording the 3-NO 2TTCorrH 3 and 3,17-(NO 2) 2TTCorrH 3 isomers as the main products in the case of mono- and disubstitution, in 53 and 20% yields, respectively. In both cases, traces of other mono- and disubstituted isomers were detected, which were structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The influence of the β-nitro substituents on the corrole properties is studied in detail by UV-visible, electrochemical, and spectroelectrochemical characterization of these functionalized corroles. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations of the ground and excited state properties of these β-nitrocorrole derivatives also afforded significant information, closely matching the experimental observations. It is found that the β-NO 2 substituents conjugate with the π-aromatic system of the macrocycle, which initiates significant changes in both the spectroscopic and redox properties of the so functionalized corroles. This effect is more pronounced when the nitro group is introduced at the 2-position, because in this case the conjugation is, for steric reasons, more efficient than in the 3-nitro isomer. © 2012 American Chemical Society.