Generation of a Mn(IV)-Peroxo or Mn(III)-Oxo-Mn(III) Species upon Oxygenation of Mono- and Binuclear Thiolate-Ligated Mn(II) Complexes

Inorg Chem. 2017 Sep 5;56(17):10559-10569. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01513. Epub 2017 Aug 21.

Abstract

A thiolate-bridged binuclear complex [PPN]2[(MnII(TMSPS3))2] (1, PPN = bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium and TMSPS3H3 = (2,2',2″-trimercapto-3,3',3″-tris(trimethylsilyl)triphenylphosphine)), prepared from the reaction of MnCl2/[PPN]Cl and Li3[TMSPS3], converts into a mononuclear complex [PPN][MnII(TMSPS3)(DABCO)] (2) in the presence of excess amounts of DABCO (DABCO = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane). Variable temperature studies of solution containing 1 and DABCO by UV-vis spectroscopy indicate that 1 and 2 exist in significant amounts in equilibrium and mononuclear 2 is favored at low temperature. Treatment of 1 or 2 with the monomeric O2-side-on-bound [PPN][MnIV(O2)(TMSPS3)] (3) produces the mono-oxo-bridged dimer [PPN]2[(MnIII(TMSPS3))2(μ-O)] (4). The electrochemistry of 1 and 2 reveals anodic peak(s) for a MnIII/MnII redox couple at shifted potentials against Fc/Fc+, indicating that both complexes can be oxidized by dioxygen. The O2 activation mediated by 1 and 2 is investigated in both solution and the solid state. Microcrystals of 2 rapidly react with air or dry O2 to generate the Mn(IV)-peroxo 3 in high yield, revealing a solid-to-solid transformation and two-electron reduction of O2. Oxygenation of 1 or 2 in solution, however, is affected by diffusion and transient concentration of dioxygen in the two different substrates, leading to generation of 3 and 4 in variable ratios.