A general high-yield route to bis(salicylaldimine) zinc(II) complexes: application to the synthesis of pyridine-modified salen-type zinc(II) complexes

Boosting the activity of Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions with a supramolecular palladium catalyst favouring remote Zn⋯pyridine interactions

Transition metal catalysis benefitting from supramolecular interactions in the secondary coordination sphere in order to pre-organize substrates around the active site and reach a specific selectivity typically occurs under long reaction times and mild reaction temperatures with the aim to maximize such subtle effects. Herein, we demonstrate that the kinetically labile Zn⋯N interaction between a pyridine substrate and a zinc-porphyrin site serving for substrate binding is a unique type of weak interaction that enables identification of supramolecular effects in transition metal catalysis after one hour at a high reaction temperature of 130 °C. Under carefully selected reaction conditions, supramolecularly-regulated palladium-catalyzed Mizoroki-Heck reactions between 3-bromopyridine and terminal olefins (acrylates or styrenes) proceeded in a more efficient manner compared to the non-supramolecular version. The supramolecular catalysis developed here also displayed interesting substrate-selectivity patterns.

Salen, salan and salalen zinc(II) complexes in the interaction with HS-: time-resolved fluorescence applications

In the current work we investigate the route of interaction of a newly synthesized family of zinc complexes with HS^- by a plethora of different spectroscopic techniques. A computational analysis on the time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) level explored the overall fluorescence properties of the title complexes and their different fluorescence responses to HS^-. Time-resolved fluorescence experiments were also performed and highlight the great potential of the current systems to be implemented as HS^- fluorescent sensors.

Lewis Acidic Zinc(II) Complexes of Tetradentate Ligands as Building Blocks for Responsive Assembled Supramolecular Structures

This review presents representative examples illustrating how the Lewis acidic character of the Zn(II) metal center in Zn(salen)-type complexes, as well as in complexes of other tetradentate ligands, and the nature of the medium govern their supramolecular aggregation, leading to the formation of a variety of supramolecular structures, either in solution or in the solid state. Stabilization of these Lewis acidic complexes is almost always reached through an axial coordination of a Lewis base, leading to a penta-coordinated square-pyramidal geometry around the metal center. The coverage is not exhaustive, mainly focused on their crystallographic structures, but also on their aggregation and sensing properties in solution, and on their self-assembled and responsive nanostructures, summarizing their salient aspects. The axial ligands can easily be displaced, either in solution or in the solid state, with suitable Lewis bases, thus being responsive supramolecular structures useful for sensing. This contribution represents the first attempt to relate some common features of the chemistry of different families of Zn(II) complexes of tetradentate ligands to their intrinsic Lewis acidic character.

Enzyme-like Supramolecular Iridium Catalysis Enabling C-H Bond Borylation of Pyridines with meta-Selectivity

The use of secondary interactions between substrates and catalysts is a promising strategy to discover selective transition metal catalysts for atom-economy C-H bond functionalization. The most powerful catalysts are found via trial-and-error screening due to the low association constants between the substrate and the catalyst in which small stereo-electronic modifications within them can lead to very different reactivities. To circumvent these limitations and to increase the level of reactivity prediction in these important reactions, we report herein a supramolecular catalyst harnessing Zn⋅⋅⋅N interactions that binds to pyridine-like substrates as tight as it can be found in some enzymes. The distance and spatial geometry between the active site and the substrate binding site is ideal to target unprecedented meta-selective iridium-catalyzed C-H bond borylations with enzymatic Michaelis-Menten kinetics, besides unique substrate selectivity and dormant reactivity patterns.

Lewis acidic zinc(II) salen-type Schiff-base complexes: sensing properties and responsive nanostructures

In this frontier article some peculiar characteristics of Zn(salen)-type Schiff-base complexes are reviewed. The paper is mainly focused on the most recent and relevant achievements on responsive supramolecular nanostructures and sensing properties, both of them related to the Lewis acidic character of the ZnII centre in these molecular species, providing an interpretation of these features. The sensing properties of Zn(salen)-type complexes mainly originate from optical spectroscopic changes associated with the formation of the adducts upon addition of a Lewis base (analyte), either by deaggregation of dimeric species or displacement of the solvent coordinated to the metal centre. In both cases the direct sensing is related either to the Lewis acidic character of the complex as well as to the Lewis basicity of the analyte. The formation of responsive nanostructures with fluorescent, and/or vapochromic, mechanochromic, and thermochromic characteristics is driven by non-mutual intermolecular ZnO interactions, further stabilized by π-π stacking interactions and/or interdigitation of the alkyl side groups. The Lewis acidic character is not a prerogative of Zn(salen)-type complexes of tetradentate Schiff-bases. Many other classes of ZnII complexes can possess this property. A correct interpretation of their chemistry is certainly useful for further development of these classical coordination compounds as new molecular materials.

Structural analysis of five-coordinate aluminium(salen) complexes and its relationship to their catalytic activity

The crystal structure of [Al(tBu-salen)]2O·HCl shows major changes compared to that of [Al(tBu-salen)]2O. The additional proton is localized on the bridging oxygen atom, making the aluminium atoms more electron deficient. As a result, a water molecule coordinates to one of the aluminium atoms, which becomes six-coordinate. This pushes the salen ligand associated with the six-coordinate aluminium ion closer to the other salen ligand and results in the geometry around the five-coordinate aluminium atom becoming more trigonal bipyramidal. These results experimentally mirror the predications of DFT calculations on the interaction of [Al(tBu-salen)]2O and related complexes with carbon dioxide. Variable temperature NMR studies of protonated [Al(tBu-salen)]2O complexes revealed that the structures were dynamic and could be explained on the basis of an intramolecular rearrangement in which the non-salen substituent of a five-coordinate aluminium(tBu-salen) unit migrates from one face of a square based pyramidal structure to the other via the formation of structures with trigonal bipyramidal geometries. Protonated [Al(tBu-salen)]2O complexes were shown to have enhanced Lewis acidity relative to [Al(tBu-salen)]2O, coordinating to water, dioxane and 1,2-epoxyhexane. Coordinated epoxyhexane was activated towards ring-opening, to give various species which remained coordinated to the aluminium centers. The protonated [Al(tBu-salen)]2O complexes catalysed the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide both in the presence and absence of tetrabutylammonium bromide as a nucleophilic cocatalyst. The catalytic activity was principally determined by the nature of the nucleophilic species within the catalyst structure rather than by changes to the Lewis acidity of the metal centers.

The Role of Zinc(II) Ion in Fluorescence Tuning of Tridentate Pincers: A Review

Tridentate ligands are simple low-cost pincers, easy to synthetize, and able to guarantee stability to the derived complexes. On the other hand, due to its unique mix of structural and optical properties, zinc(II) ion is an excellent candidate to modulate the emission pattern as desired. The present work is an overview of selected articles about zinc(II) complexes showing a tuned fluorescence response with respect to their tridentate ligands. A classification of the tridentate pincers was carried out according to the binding donor atom groups, specifically nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur donor atoms, and depending on the structure obtained upon coordination. Fluorescence properties of the ligands and the related complexes were compared and discussed both in solution and in the solid state, keeping an eye on possible applications.

Zinc Imine Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane as a Quattro-Site Catalyst for the Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Epoxides and Low-Pressure CO2

In the present research, the synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and structural investigations of a unique Zn^II complex of imine-functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is designed, and hereby described, as a catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO₂. The uncommon features of the designed catalytic system is the elimination of the need for a high pressure of CO₂ and the significant shortening of reaction times commonly associated with such difficult transformations like that of styrene oxide to styrene carbonate. Our studies have shown that imine-POSS is able to chelate metal ions like Zn^II to form a unique coordination complex. The silsesquioxane core and the hindrance of the side arms (their steric effect) influence the construction process of the homoleptic Zn₄@POSS-1 complex. The compound was characterized in solution by NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ²⁹Si), ESI-MS, UV/Vis spectroscopy and in the solid state by thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), elemental analysis, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP MAS) NMR (¹³C, ²⁹Si) spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography.

On the Aggregation and Sensing Properties of Zinc(II) Schiff-Base Complexes of Salen-Type Ligands

The zinc(II) ion forms stable complexes with a wide variety of ligands, but those related to Schiff-bases are among the most largely investigated. This review deals with the peculiar aggregation characteristics of Zn(II) Schiff-base complexes from tetradentate N2O2 salen-type ligands, L, derivatives from salicylaldehydes and 1,2-diamines, and is mostly focused on their spectroscopic properties in solution. Thanks to their Lewis acidic character, ZnL complexes show interesting structural, nanostructural, and aggregation/deaggregation properties in relation to the absence/presence of a Lewis base. Deaggregation of these complexes is accompanied by relevant changes of their spectroscopic properties that can appropriately be exploited for sensing Lewis bases. Thus, ZnL complexes have been investigated as chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensors of charged and neutral Lewis bases, including cell imaging, and have shown to be selective and sensitive to the Lewis basicity of the involved species. From these studies emerges that these popular, Lewis acidic bis(salicylaldiminato)Zn(II) Schiff-base complexes represent classical coordination compounds for modern applications.

Coordination-driven assembly of a supramolecular square and oxidation to a tetra-ligand radical species

The design and synthesis of a supramolecular square was achieved by coordination-driven assembly of redox-active nickel(ii) salen linkers and (ethylenediamine)palladium(ii) nodes. The tetrameric geometry of the supramolecular structure was confirmed via MS, NMR, and electrochemical experiments. While oxidation of the monomeric metalloligand Schiff-base affords a Ni(iii) species, oxidation of the coordination-driven assembly results in ligand radical formation.

Rare-earth/zinc heterometallic complexes containing both alkoxy-amino-bis(phenolato) and chiral salen ligands: synthesis and catalytic application for copolymerization of CO2 with cyclohexene oxide

Ten rare-earth/zinc heterometallic complexes were synthesized and their catalytic application for copolymerization of CO₂ with cyclohexene oxide was explored.

Lewis Acid-Promoted Enantioselective Dearomative Spirocyclizations of Allenes

A chiral oxazaborolidine combined with SnCl₄ has been found to promote the dearomative spirocyclization of electron-rich benzyl allenyl ketones. The reaction outcome is sensitive to the nature of activating acid, which was rationalized using hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) theory. The spirocyclic product was obtained with up to 72% ee, which is the best result reported to date for these substrates. The formation of cross-conjugated or conjugated products is readily controlled by changing the oxygen-protecting groups.

Bis-ZnII salphen complexes bearing pyridyl functionalized ligands for efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)

Inspired by the emissive features of Zn^II complexes based on bis-Schiff base ligands, bis-Zn^II salphen complexes bearing pyridyl functionalized ligands have been successfully synthesized. Their photophysical features, electrochemical behavior and electroluminescent (EL) properties have been investigated in detail. The functionalized bis-Zn^II salphen complexes can exhibit high thermal stability up to 417 °C, and their photoluminescence (PL) spectra show a maximal emission wavelength peak at ca. 565 nm both in solution and PMMA doped films. The PL investigation of the neat films for these functionalized bis-Zn^II salphen complexes indicated that the pyridyl functionalized ligands can effectively reduce the degree of molecular aggregation to enhance their emission intensity. Taking advantage of the charge carrier injection/transporting ability of the pyridyl functionalized ligands and their dendritic design, the optimized EL devices fabricated by a simple solution-processing method can achieve a peak luminance (L_max) of 3589 cd m^-2, a maximal external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 1.46%, a maximal current efficiency (η_L) of 4.1 cd A^-1 and a maximal power efficiency (η_p) of 3.8 lm W^-1. These results should afford important instructions for exploiting high performance fluorescent emitters based on dinuclear Zn^II complexes.

Chiral NH-Controlled Supramolecular Metallacycles

Chiral NH functionalities-based discrimination is a key feature of Nature's chemical armory, yet selective binding of biologically active molecules in synthetic systems with high enantioselectivity poses significant challenges. Here we report the assembly of three chiral fluorescent Zn₆L₆ metallacycles from pyridyl-functionalized Zn(salalen) or Zn(salen) complexes. Each of these metallacycles has a nanoscale hydrophobic cavity decorated with six, three, or zero chiral NH functionalities and packs into a three-dimensional supramolecular porous framework. The binding affinity and enantioselectivity of the metallacycles toward α-hydroxycarboxylic acids, amino acids, small molecule pharamaceuticals (l-dopa, d-penicillamine), and chiral amines increase with the number of chiral NH moieties in the cyclic structure. From single-crystal X-ray diffraction, molecular simulations, and quantum chemical calculations, the chiral recognition and discrimination are attributed to the specific binding of enantiomers in the chiral pockets of the metallacycles. The parent metallacycles are fluorescent with the intensity of emission being linearly related to the enantiomeric composition of the chiral biorelevant guests, which allow them to be utilized in chiral sensing. The fact that manipulation of chiral NH functionalities in metallacycles can control the enantiorecognition of biomolecular complexes would facilitate the design of more effective supramolecular assemblies for enantioselective processes.

On the Lewis acidic character of bis(salicylaldiminato)zinc(ii) Schiff-base complexes: a computational and experimental investigation on a series of compounds varying the bridging diimine

The electronic effects induced by the geometry of the 1,2-diimine bridge control the Lewis acidic character in a series of Zn^II Shiff-base complexes.

Solid state π–π stacking and higher order dimensional crystal packing, reactivity, and electrochemical behaviour of salphenazine actinide and transition metal complexes

Here, we describe and compare the synthesis, solution characterization, and solid-state behaviour of the salphenazine ligand and metal complexes.

A highly sensitive and selective fluorescent chemosensor for detection of Zn2+ based on a Schiff base

A Schiff-base fluorescent probe - 2-((E)-(quinolin-8-ylimino)methyl)quinolin-8-ol (H7L) was synthesized and evaluated as a chemoselective Zn2+ sensor. Upon treatment with Zn2+, the complexation of H7L with Zn2+ resulted in a red shift with a pronounced enhancement in the fluorescence emission intensity in ethanol solution. Moreover, other common alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions failed to induce response or minimal spectral changes. Notably, this chemosensor could distinguish clearly Zn2+ from Cd2+. Fluorescence studies on H7L and H7L-Zn2+ complex reveal that the quantum yield strongly increases upon coordination. The stoichiometric ratio and association constant were evaluated using Benesi-Hildebrand relation giving 1:1 stoichiometry. This further corroborated 1:1 complex formation based on Job's plot analyses. This chemosensor exhibits a very good fluorescence sensing ability to Zn2+ over a wide range of pH.

A Ni(ii) dinuclear complex bridged by end-on azide-N and phenolate-O atoms: spectral interpretation, magnetism and biological study

A new dinuclear complex, [Ni(L)(μ_1,1-N₃)Ni(L)(OH₂)₂]·ClO₄(1), has been synthesized. It shows the presence of ferromagnetic interactions and is endowed with both anti-mycobacterial and anticancer properties.

Self-assembled nanostructures of amphiphilic zinc(II) salophen complexes: role of the solvent on their structure and morphology

This contribution explores the effect of several solvent properties, such as volatility, polarity, and Lewis basicity on the formation of molecular self-assembled nanostructures in the solid state, obtained either by casting of related solutions or by complete solvent evaporation, using seven solvents representative of common classes of coordinating organic solvents, of an amphiphilic Zn(II) Schiff-base complex. In all cases, the existence of well-defined X-ray diffraction patterns, for both the cast and powder samples, indicates a strong tendency towards the molecular self-assembly of such complexes. While nanostructures formed in acetone, THF, pyridine, and DMF have a lamellar organization, those formed in ACN, ethanol, and DMSO exhibit a 2D columnar square structure. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis indicates that nanostructures formed in volatile acetone, THF, ACN, and ethanol solvents show a fibrous morphology, while those formed in less volatile pyridine, DMF, and DMSO have a ribbon appearance. Overall, the results indicate that while the formation of such nanostructures is independent of the Lewis basicity of the solvent, the solvent polarity affects their structure - more polar solvents favour higher symmetry structures - and the solvent volatility influences their morphology and ordering in the cast films - lower volatility of the solvent parallels the formation of much more ordered structures. Therefore, the appropriate choice of solvent allows control of the structure, morphology, and ordering of these molecular assemblies.

Assessment of the various ionization methods in the analysis of metal salen complexes by mass spectrometry

Metal salen complexes are one of the most frequently used catalysts in enantioselective organic synthesis. In the present work, we compare a series of ionization methods that can be used for the mass spectral analysis of two types of metalosalens: ionic complexes (abbreviated as Com(+)X(-)) and neutral complexes (NCom). These methods include electron ionization and field desorption (FD) which can be applied to pure samples and atmospheric pressure ionization techniques: electrospray ionization (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) which are suitable for solutions. We found that FD is a method of choice for recording molecular ions of the complexes containing even loosely bonded ligands. The results obtained using atmospheric pressure ionization methods show that the results depend mainly on the structure of metal salen complex and the ionization method. In ESI spectra, Com(+) ions were observed, while in APCI and APPI spectra both Com(+) and [Com + H](+) ions are observed in the ratio depending on the structure of the metal salen complex and the solvent used in the analysis. For complexes with tetrafluoroborate counterion, an elimination of BF3 took place, and ions corresponding to complexes with fluoride counterion were observed. Experiments comparing the relative sensitivity of ESI, APCI and APPI (with and without a dopant) methods showed that for the majority of the studied complexes ESI is the most sensitive one; however, the sensitivity of APCI is usually less than two times lower and for some compounds is even higher than the sensitivity of ESI. Both methods show very high linearity of the calibration curve in a range of about 3 orders of magnitude of the sample concentration.

Fluorescent chemosensor based on sensitive Schiff base for selective detection of Zn2+

A Schiff-base fluorescent compound - N, N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,2 - phenylenediamine (LH2) was synthesized and evaluated as a chemoselective Zn(2+) sensor. Addition of Zn(2+) to ethanol solution of LH2 resulted in a red shift with a pronounced enhancement in the fluorescence intensity. Moreover, other common alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions failed to induce response or minimal spectral changes. Notably, this chemosensor could distinguish clearly Zn(2+) from Cd(2+). Fluorescence studies on free Schiff base ligand LH2 and LH2 - Zn(2+) complex reveal that the quantum yield strongly increases upon coordination. The stoichiometric ratio and association constant were evaluated using Benesi - Hildebrand relation giving 1:1 stoichiometry. This further corroborated 1:1 complex formation based on Job's plot analyses.

A chiral mixed metal-organic framework based on a Ni(saldpen) metalloligand: synthesis, characterization and catalytic performances

A three-dimensional (3D) chiral mixed metal-organic framework [Cd4Cl(Ni-L)3(Ni-HL)(H2O)6(DMF)]·4DMF (CMOF 1) based on a new enantiopure dicarboxyl-functionalized Ni(saldpen) metalloligand Ni-H2L and a novel tetranuclear cadmium cluster [Cd4Cl(CO2)7(CO2H)] has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR and UV-vis spectra, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen and carbon dioxide adsorption, powder and single-crystal X-ray diffractions. Each tetranuclear-cadmium cluster in 1 is linked by eight Ni-L ligands, and each Ni-L ligand is linked by two tetranuclear-cadmium clusters to generate a 3D framework with 1D open channels (∼1.1 × 0.9 nm(2)) along the b-axis. Based on its good stability, permanent porosity, Lewis acid sites and moderate uptake for CO2, 1 can be used as a self-supported heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of optically active propylene carbonate by asymmetric cycloaddition of CO2 with racemic propylene oxide under relatively mild conditions.