Synthesis and characterization of iron(II) and iron(III) complexes with a tridentate O,N,O′-ligand

The coordination chemistry of the ligand precursor 1-benzoyl-4,5-dihydro-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-5-ol (1a) to iron(II) acetate was studied. In dependence of the added co-ligand different complex geometries were observed. In case of 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as co-ligand an octahedral iron(II) complex was found with an O,N,O'-coordination of the tridentate ligand (1a-2H), in which the ligand is planar, the oxygen donors are trans to each other, and the nitrogen donor is in a cis position. The other coordination sites on the iron center are occupied by DMAP ligands. In contrast to that, with triphenylphosphane as the co-ligand an oxidation process took place, which revealed an octahedral iron(III) complex with a comparable geometry for the tridentate ligand-(O,N,O'-coordination, 1a-2H) demonstrating the usefulness of 1a-2H to stabilize different oxidation states. The additional coordination sites are occupied by one triphenylphosphane oxide and ethoxide ligands. Interestingly, the ethoxide ligands act as bridging ligands to form a bimetallic complex. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.