Cobalt complexes with cinchonidine and quinidine: effect of C8/C9 stereochemistry and 6'-substitution on...

The title compounds, (cinchonidinium)trichlorocobalt(II) [(C(19)H(23)ON(2))CoCl(3)] (CoCdn) and (quinidinium)trichlorocobalt(II) [(C(20)H(25)O(2)N(2))CoCl(3)] (CoQd), are zwitterions that differ in absolute configuration and conformation. In both complexes, the sp(3) nitrogen of quinuclidine is protonated, whereas the sp(2) nitrogen of quinoline is linked to the Co(II) atom, which coordinates three chlorine atoms in distorted tetrahedral geometry. The mutual orientations of the quinoline and quinuclidine moieties in CoCdn and CoQd differ significantly because of different hydrogen bonding involving the hydroxyl group. In both complexes, the quinuclidine NH groups and hydroxyl groups are hydrogen-bond donors to the chlorine atoms of Co(II) tetrahedra. In CoQd the hydrogen bonding leads to formation of a nine-membered ring consisting of Co, two chlorines, and a fragment of the quinidine molecule. A comparison of the crystal structures of four Cinchona alkaloid complexes with trichlorocobalt(II) shows that their space groups are determined by the absolute configuration of the alkaloid, whereas the hydrogen-bonding pattern is mainly affected by the substituent in the quinoline ring, i.e., by hydrogen or methoxyl group.