Interaction between [(η6-p-cym)M(H2O)3]2+ (MII = Ru, Os) or [(η5-Cp*)M(H2O)3]2+ (MIII = Rh, Ir) and Phosphonate Derivatives of Iminodiacetic Acid: A Solution Equilibrium and DFT Study

Abstract

The pH-dependent binding strengths and modes of the organometallic [(η6-p-cym)M(H2O)3]2+ (MII = Ru, Os; p-cym = 1-methyl-4-isopropylbenzene) or [(η5-Cp*)M(H2O)3]2+ (MIII = Rh, Ir; Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl anion) cations towards iminodiacetic acid (H2Ida) and its biorelevant mono- and diphosphonate derivatives N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine (H3IdaP) and iminodi(methylphosphonic acid) (H4Ida2P) was studied in an aqueous solution. The results showed that all three of the ligands form 1:1 complexes via the tridentate (O,N,O) donor set, for which the binding mode was further corroborated by the DFT method. Although with IdaP3− and Ida2P4− in mono- and bis-protonated species, where H+ might also be located at the non-coordinating N atom, the theoretical calculations revealed the protonation of the phosphonate group(s) and the tridentate coordination of the phosphonate ligands. The replacement of one carboxylate in Ida2− by a phosphonate group (IdaP3−) resulted in a significant increase in the stability of the metal complexes; however, this increase vanished with Ida2P4−, which was most likely due to some steric hindrance upon the coordination of the second large phosphonate group to form (5 + 5) joined chelates. In the phosphonate-containing systems, the neutral 1:1 complexes are the major species at pH 7.4 in the millimolar concentration range that is supported by both NMR and ESI-TOF-MS.

Electrochemical Water Oxidation and CO2 Reduction with a Nickel Molecular Catalyst

“…Phosphonate ligands can adopt different coordination modes, such as bidentate, tridentate, or tetradentate, enabling the formation of diverse and well-defined coordination geometries. This flexibility allows for the design and synthesis of complexes with specific structural and electronic properties, making phosphonate ligands useful in various areas such as catalysis [42,43], materials science [44][45][46][47][48], and bioinorganic chemistry [49]. Moreover, phosphonate ligands often possess functional groups that can be easily modified or derived, providing opportunities for the further tuning of their properties, such as enhanced redox activity and selectivity in catalysis.…”