Hydrocarbyl ligand "tuning" of the PtII/IV redox potential

The potentially tridentate macrocycle [2.1.1]-(2,6)-pyridinophane (L) enables the transient LPt(II)(CH(3))(+) to cleave the C-H bond of two molecules of C(6)F(5)H. The resulting product has two aryl groups on Pt but, in contrast to nonfluorinated analogue, varies in its location of the cleaved H, as is evident from the two products (HL(+))Pt(II)R(2) and (eta(3)-L)Pt(IV)H(R)(2)(+). At equilibrium, the related example where R = CH(3) is purely the Pt(IV) redox isomer, which with R = C(6)H(5) shows detectable populations of both isomers, and with R = C(6)F(5) is purely the pyridine-protonated (HL(+))Pt(II) redox isomer. All species show a hydrogen bond from the pyridinium proton to Pt(II). Consistent with the idea that electron-withdrawing R makes platinum(II) more resistant to oxidation (i.e., a proton on Pt), and thus less Brønsted basic, the (1)J(PtH) coupling constant falls in the series R = Me (90 Hz), R = C(6)H(5) (86 Hz), and R = C(6)F(5) (63 Hz).