It is postulated that the copper(I) nitrite complex is a key reaction intermediate of copper containing nitrite reductases (Cu-NiRs), which catalyze the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide (NO) gas in bacterial denitrification. To investigate the structure-function relationship of Cu-NiR, we prepared five new copper(I) nitrite complexes with sterically hindered tris(4-imidazolyl)carbinols [Et-TIC = tris(1-methyl-2-ethyl-4-imidazolyl)carbinol and iPr-TIC = tris(1-methyl-2-isopropyl-4-imidazolyl)carbinol] or tris(1-pyrazolyl)methanes [Me-TPM = tris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane; Et-TPM = tris(3,5-diethyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane; and iPr-TPM = tris(3,5-diisopropyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane]. The X-ray crystal structures of all of these copper(I) nitrite complexes were mononuclear eta(1)-N-bound nitrite complexes with a distorted tetrahedral geometry. The electronic structures of the complexes were investigated by absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), NMR, and vibrational spectroscopy. All of these complexes are good functional models of Cu-NiR that form NO and copper(II) acetate complexes well from reactions with acetic acid under anaerobic conditions. A comparison of the reactivity of these complexes, including previously reported (iPr-TACN)Cu(NO2) [iPr-TACN = 1,4,7-triisopropyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane], clearly shows the drastic effects of the tridentate ligand on Cu-NiR activity. The copper(I) nitrite complex with the Et-TIC ligand, which is similar to the highly conserved three-histidine ((His)3) ligand environment in the catalytic site of Cu-NiR, had the highest Cu-NiR activity. This result suggests that the (His)3 ligand environment is essential for acceleration of the Cu-NiR reaction. The highest Cu-NiR activity for the Et-TIC complex can be explained by the structural and spectroscopic characterizations and the molecular orbital calculations presented in this paper. Based on these results, the functional role of the (His)3 ligand environment in Cu-NiR is discussed.

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The anilic acids, 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (1a), 2,5-dibromo-3,6-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (bromanilic acid; 1b), 2,5-dichloro-3,6-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (chloranilic acid; 1c), and 2,5-dicyano-3,6-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (cyananilic acid; 1d), were cocrystallized with rigid organic ligands containing two pyridine rings, 2,4-bipyridine (2a), 4,4'-bipyridine (2b), 1,2-bis(2-pyridyl)ethylene (3a), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (3b), 2,2'-dipyridylacetylene (4a), 3,3'-dipyridylacetylene (4b), and 4,4'-dipyridylacetylene (4c). Fourteen complexes 5-18 were obtained as single crystals, and their crystal structures were successfully determined by X-ray analysis. All complexes except those with 2a are 1:1 and are composed of an infinite linear or zigzag tape structure, the formation of which is ascribed to intermolecular O-H...N, N(+)-H...O, or N(+)-H...O(-) hydrogen bonds or a combination of these between the anilic acids and the dipyridyl compounds. In the complexes 5 and 6, no infinite tape structure is observed although the molecular units connected by a similar hydrogen-bonding pattern are formed. For the 1:1 complexes, we have found two types of stacking arrangements, segregated stacks (7, 9, 12-15, 18) and alternated ones (8, 10, 11, 16, 17). In the complexes of 1c with the series of dipyridylacetylenes 4 (14, 15, 17), the neutral, dication, and monocaction states are formed depending on the nitrogen positions, which can be attributed to the different basicity of the pyridyl groups.

63Cu NMR spectroscopic studies of copper(I) complexes with various N-donor tridentate ligands are reported. As has been previously reported for most copper(I) complexes, 63Cu NMR signals, when acetonitrile is coordinated to copper(I) complexes of these tridentate ligands, are broad or undetectable. However, when CO is bound to tridentate copper(I) complexes, the 63Cu NMR signals become much sharper and show a large downfield shift compared to those for the corresponding acetonitrile complexes. Temperature dependence of 63Cu NMR signals for these copper(I) complexes show that a quadrupole relaxation process is much more significant to their 63Cu NMR line widths than a ligand exchange process. Therefore, an electronic effect of the copper bound CO makes the 63Cu NMR signal sharp and easily detected. The large downfield shift for the copper(I) carbonyl complex can be explained by a paramagnetic shielding effect induced by the copper bound CO, which amplifies small structural and electronic changes that occur around the copper ion to be easily detected in their 63Cu NMR shifts. This is evidenced by the correlation between the 63Cu NMR shifts for the copper(I) carbonyl complexes and their nu(C[triple bond]O) values. Furthermore, the 63Cu NMR shifts for copper(I) carbonyl complexes with imino-type tridentate ligands show a different correlation line with those for amino-type tridentate ligands. On the other hand, 13C NMR shifts for the copper bound 13CO for these copper(I) carbonyl complexes do not correlate with the nu(C[triple bond]O) values. The X-ray crystal structures of these copper(I) carbonyl complexes do not show any evidence of a significant structural change around the Cu-CO moiety. The findings herein indicate that CO complexation makes 63Cu NMR spectroscopy much more useful for Cu(I) chemistry.

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Novel dipyridyl compounds containing a mono- and bisbenzothiadiazole unit were synthesized using the Stille coupling reaction. Their pyridinium salts, viologen analogues, were also prepared by the N-alkylation. The X-ray crystallographic analysis of the compounds containing a benzothiadiazole ring revealed nonplanar molecular structures and unique crystal structures depending on the nitrogen positions. The dipyridyl compounds are efficient fluorophores with high electron affinity. The derivative afforded complexes with chloranilic acid and cyanuric acid composed of hydrogen bonding networks. The methyl viologen analogues showed two-stage one-electron reduction waves.