Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Amide Coupling Reaction for the Synthesis of Bispyridine-based Ligands and Their Complexation to Platinum as Dinuclear Anticancer Agents
Published on: May 28, 2014
NMR studies of mononuclear octahedral Ni(II) complexes supported by tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine-type ligands
Ewa Szajna1, Piotr Dobrowolski, Amy L Fuller
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0300, USA.
Abstract:
The recent discovery of acireductone dioxygenase (ARD), a metalloenzyme containing a mononuclear octahedral Ni(II) center, necessitates the development of model systems for evaluating the role of the metal center in substrate oxidation chemistry. In this work, three Ni(II) complexes of an aryl-appended tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine ligand (6-Ph(2)TPA, N,N-bis((6-phenyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)-N-((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine), [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni(CH(3)CN)(CH(3)OH)](ClO(4))(2) (1), [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni(ONHC(O)CH(3))]ClO(4) (3), and [(6-Ph(2)TPA)Ni-Cl(CH(3)CN)]ClO(4) (4), and one Ni(II) complex of tris((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine, [(TPA)Ni(CH(3)CN)(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(2) (2), have been characterized in acetonitrile solution using conductance methods and NMR spectroscopy. In acetonitrile solution, 1-4 have monomeric cations that exhibit isotropically shifted (1)H NMR resonances. Full assignment of these resonances was achieved using one- and two-dimensional (1)H NMR techniques and (2)H NMR of analogues having deuteration of the supporting chelate ligand. COSY cross peaks were observed for pyridyl protons of the 6-Ph(2)TPA ligand in 1 and 3. This study lays the groundwork for using NMR methods to examine chemical reactions of 1 and 2 with model substrates of relevance to ARD.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Coordination Number and Geometry
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can be...
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Complexometric Titration: Ligands

