Synthesis and crystal structure of 1,1'-bis-{[4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]meth-yl}ferrocene, and its complexation with CuI.

The title compound, [Fe(C13H11N4)2], was synthesized starting from 1,1'-ferro-cene-di-carb-oxy-lic acid in a three-step reaction sequence. The di-carb-oxy-lic acid was reduced to 1,1'-ferrocenedi-methanol using LiAlH4 and subsequently converted to 1,1'-bis-(azido-meth-yl)ferrocene in the presence of NaN3. The diazide was treated with 2-ethynyl-pyridine under 'click' conditions to give the title compound in 75% yield. The FeII center lies on an inversion center in the crystal. The two pyridyl-triazole wings are oriented in an anti conformation and positioned exo from the FeII center. In the solid state, the mol-ecules inter-act by C-H⋯N, C-H⋯π, and π-π inter-actions. The complexation of the ligand with [Cu(CH3CN)4](PF6) gives a tetra-nuclear dimeric complex.

Synthesis and crystal structures of 2-(ferrocenyl-carbon-yl)benzoic acid and 3-ferrocenylphthalide.

The title compounds, 2-(ferrocenylcarbon-yl)benzoic acid, [Fe(C5H5)(C13H9O3)], 1, and 3-ferrocenylphthalide [systematic name: 3-ferrocenyl-2-benzo-furan-1(3H)-one], [Fe(C5H5)(C13H9O2)], 2, have been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal structure of compound 1 was solved recently at room temperature [Qin, Y. (2019 ▸). CSD Communication (CCDC deposition number 1912662). CCDC, Cambridge, England]. Here we report a redetermination of its crystal structure at 90 K with improved precision by a factor of about three. The mol-ecular structures of both compounds exhibit a typical sandwich structure. In the crystal packing of compound 1, each mol-ecule engages in inter-molecular hydrogen bonding, forming a centrosymmetric dimer with graph-set notation R 2 2 (8) and an O⋯O distance of 2.6073 (15) Å. There are weak C-H⋯O and C-H⋯π inter-actions in the crystal packing of compound 2. The phthalide moiety in 2 is oriented roughly perpendicular to the ferrocene backbone, with a dihedral angle of 77.4 (2)°.

Externally and Internally Functionalized Copper(II) ß-Diketonate Molecular Squares.

Five functionalized bis(ß-diketones) and their Cu(II) molecular squares are described. The new bis(ß-diketones), m-pbhxH2 (3), 5-MeO-m-pbaH2 (4), 5-BuO-m-pbaH2 (5), 2-MeO-m-pbaH2 (6), and 2-MeO-m-pbprH2 (7), were prepared by reaction of the corresponding aldehydes with phospholenes, as we previously reported for m-pbaH2 (1) and m-pbprH2 (2). Ligand 3 has long alkyl chains in its ß-diketone moieties, while ligands 4-7 have alkoxy substituents on their aromatic rings. When treated with Cu(2+), the new bis(ß-diketones) 3, 4, 5, and 7 afford molecular squares, Cu4(m-pbhx)4 (10), Cu4(5-MeO-m-pba)4 (11), Cu4(5-BuO-m-pba)4 (12), and Cu4(2-MeO-m-pbpr)4 (13), respectively. Two of the new molecular squares, 10 and 12, contain longer-chain substituents and are soluble in a wider range of organic solvents. The other squares, 11 and 13, contain external and internal methoxy groups, respectively, and they show smaller changes in solubility. Single-crystal X-ray analyses are reported for three of the molecular squares without guest molecules, and for five adducts of the squares with σ- (polypyridine) and π-bonded (fullerene) guests. The Cu···Cu distances in the "empty" squares range from 14.047 to 14.904 Å; those in the adducts vary over a wider range depending on the guest molecule involved.

Reduction of carbon dioxide to oxalate by a binuclear copper complex.

Reduction of carbon dioxide to products such as oxalate (C2O4(2-)) is an active area of research, as the process converts an environmental pollutant into more useful organic compounds. However, carbon dioxide reduction remains a major challenge. Here we demonstrate a three-step reaction sequence in which a copper complex converts carbon dioxide to oxalate under mild conditions. The copper(II) complex is reduced to copper(I) in solution, either electrochemically or using sodium ascorbate. The reduced complex selectively reacts with carbon dioxide from air and fixes it into oxalate, with the oxalate ion bridging between two copper atoms. The bound oxalate ion is released as oxalic acid on treatment with mineral acids, regenerating the original copper(II) complex. This completes the process for conversion of carbon dioxide into oxalate using a binuclear copper complex and a mild reducing agent.

Cyclic pyridyltriazole-Cu(II) dimers as supramolecular hosts.

Tetradentate bis(pyridyltriazole) ligands containing aromatic spacers of different sizes react with Cu(2+) to produce metallo-supramolecular hosts that bind 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane molecules internally.