First-Row Transition Metal Complexes of Dipyrrinato Ligands

A library of variously-substituted dipyrrins and their first-row transition metal (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn) complexes have been synthesized, and the effects of peripheral substituents on the spectroscopic, electrochemical, and structural properties of both the free-base dipyrrins and their metal complexes has been explored. The optical and electrochemical properties of the free dipyrrins follow systematic trends; with the introduction of electron-withdrawing substituents in the 2-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 8-positions of the dipyrrin, bathochromic shifts in the absorption spectra are observed, oxidation becomes more difficult, and reduction becomes more facile. Similar effects are seen for iron(II) dipyrrinato complexes, where peripheral substitution of the dipyrrinato ligand induces red-shifts in the absorption spectra and increases the oxidation potential of the bound iron. Steric interactions between the peripheral halogens and the 5-substituent of the dipyrrinato ligand can induce distortion of the ligand from planarity, resulting in widely varying 57Fe Mössbauer quadrupole splitting (|ΔEQ|) parameters.