Control of oxo-molybdenum reduction and ionization potentials by dithiolate donors

The compounds (L-N3)MoO(qdt) and (L-N3)MoO(tdt) [(L-N3) = hydrotris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)borate; tdt = toluene-3,4-dithiolate; qdt = quinoxaline-2,3-dithiolate] have been studied by cyclic voltammetry and photoelectron, magnetic circular dichroism, and electronic absorption spectroscopies, and the experimental data have been interpreted in the context of ab initio molecular orbital calculations on a variety of dithiolate dianion ligands. The PES data reveal very substantial differences between (L-N3)MoO(qdt) and (L-N3)MoO(tdt) in that the first ionization (originating from the Mo dxy orbital) for (L-N3)MoO(qdt) is about 0.8 eV to deeper binding energy than that of (L-N3)MoO(tdt). This stabilizing effect is also reflected in the solution reduction potentials, where (L-N3)MoO(qdt) is approximately 220 mV easier to reduce than (L-N3)MoO(tdt). A direct correlation between the relative donating ability of a given dithiolate ligand and the reduction potential of the (L-N3)MoO(dithiolate) complex has been observed, and a linear relationship exists between the calculated Mulliken charge on the S atoms of the dithiolate dianion and the Mo reduction potential. The study confirms previously communicated work (Helton, M. E.; Kirk, M. L. Inorg. Chem. 1999, 38, 4384-4385) that suggests that anisotropic covalency contributions involving only the out-of-plane S orbitals of the coordinated dithiolate control the Mo reduction potential by modulating the effective nuclear charge of the metal, and this has direct relevance to understanding the mechanism of ferricyanide inhibition in sulfite oxidase. Furthermore, these results indicate that partially oxidized pyranopterins may play a role in facilitating electron and/or atom transfer in certain pyranopterin tungsten enzymes which catalyze formal oxygen atom transfer reactions at considerably lower potentials.