Five-coordinate iron(III) porphycenes: (1)H NMR, magnetic, and structural studies

Five-coordinate iron(III) 2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycene (TPrPc)Fe(III)X (X = C(6)H(5)O(-), Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), ClO(4)(-)) complexes have been investigated. The (1)H NMR spectra demonstrate downfield shifts for pyrrole resonances [(TPrPc)Fe(III)(C(6)H(5)O), 65.3 ppm; (TPrPc)Fe(III)Cl, 28.5 ppm] but large upfield ones for (TPrPc)Fe(III)Br (-7.8 ppm), (TPrPc)Fe(III)I (-49.4 ppm), and (TPrPc)Fe(III)ClO(4) (-77.1 ppm) (294 K, CD(2)Cl(2)). The pyrrole chemical shifts span the remarkable +70 to -80 ppm range. The variable-temperature (1)H NMR spectra of (TPrPc)Fe(III)X demonstrate anti-Curie behavior with a sign reversal for (TPrPc)Fe(III)Cl. These behaviors are consistent with the admixed S = 3/2, 5/2 ground electronic state with a dominating contribution of the S = 3/2 one. In terms of the chemical shift, (TPrPc)Fe(III)(ClO(4)) can be considered as an example of the purest S = 3/2 state in the investigated series. The extent of the S = 5/2 contribution in the admixed S = 3/2, 5/2 ground electronic state, as gradated solely the basis of the pyrrole proton paramagnetic shifts, is controlled by the strength of the axial ligand, following the magnetochemical series (Evans, D. R.; Reed, C. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 4660). Significantly iron(III) 2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycene, soluble in typical organic solvents, can be considered as a universal framework to classify the ligand strength in a magnetochemical series, consistently using the beta-H pyrrole paramagnetic shifts as a fundamental criterion. The structure of (TPrPc)Fe(III)Cl has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The iron is five-coordinate with bonds of nearly equal length to the four pyrrole nitrogen atoms (Fe-N in the range 1.983(5)-2.006(6) A). The iron lies 0.583(1) A out of the mean plane of the macrocycle and 0.502(5) A out of the mean N(4) plane. In the solid, pairs of molecules are positioned about the center of symmetry so there is face-to-face pi-pi contact. The mean plane separation is 3.38 A, and the lateral shift of the porphycene center along the Fe-N bond is 4.490 A. The distance from one porphycene center to the other is 5.62 A, and the iron-iron separation is 6.304(2) A.