High-spin and low-spin complexes of the iron(III)
tetrakis(meso-cyclohexyl)porphyrin
((TCHP)FeIII) have been
studied by means of 1-D and 2-D 1H NMR. The complete
assignment of porphyrin and R-imidazole 1H
resonances
has been done on the basis of 2-D COSY and NOESY techniques as well as
by selective deuteration of imidazole.
The chemical shifts of pyrrole β-Hs have been used as the probe
of the electronic state of an iron(III) metal ion.
It has been found that cyanide coordinates to the high-spin
(TCHP)FeIIICl complex, leading to the formation
of
the low-spin
[(TCHP)FeIII(CN)2]-,
with the rare
(d
xz
d
yz
)4(d
xy
)1
ground electronic state (the pyrrole β-H resonance
at 12.01 ppm at 293 K in CD3OD). A contribution
of two electronic configurations,
(d
xy
)2(d
xz
d
yz
)3
and
(d
xz
d
yz
)4(d
xy
)1, to the ground state of the
metal ion has been invoked for the low-spin
[(TCHP)FeIII(R-Im)2]+
complexes.
Characteristic 1H NMR shifts for these complexes
include the pyrrole resonance at 2.81 ppm accompanied by
the
markedly upfield shifted imidazole resonances at −19.67 ppm (2-H),
−10.58 ppm (4-H), −4.05 ppm (5-H), and
0.97 ppm (1-H). An admixture of a
(d
xz
d
yz
)4(d
xy
)1
configuration into the ground electronic state increases in
the
order imidazole (ImH) < 1-methylimidazole (1-MeIm) <
1,2-dimethylimidazole (1,2-diMeIm), following an
enlargement of the axial ligand steric hindrance. The rotation of
the 1,2-diMeIm around Fe−N bond in the
low-spin
[(TCHP)FeIII(1,2-diMeIm)2]+
complex is slow on the 1H NMR time scale even at 293 K.
Consequently
four β-H resonances and the diastereotopy of the cyclohexyl
meso-substituents have been observed. The
meso-cyclohexyl groups rotate freely at temperature above 243 K, whereas the
frozen rotation below 233 K leads to the
formation of additional rotational isomers as demonstrated by
multiplicity of β-H resonances for high-spin and
low-spin complexes studied.