Phosphorus-supported ligands for the assembly of multimetal architectures

Modeled after boron-based scorpionate ligands, acyclic and cyclic phosphorus-containing compounds possessing reactive groups can serve as excellent precursors for the assembly of novel phosphorus-supported ligands that can coordinate multiple sites. In such ligands, the phosphorus atom does not have any role in coordination but is used as a structural support to assemble one or more coordination platforms. In this Account, we describe the utility of inorganic heterocyclic rings such as cyclophosphazenes and carbophosphazenes as well as acyclic phosphorus-containing compounds such as (S)PCl(3), RP(O)Cl(2), and R(2)P(O)Cl for building such multisite coordination platforms. We can modulate the number and orientation of such coordination platforms through the choice of the phosphorus-containing precursor. This methodology is quite general and modular and allows the creation of well-defined libraries of multisite coordination ligands. Phosphorus-supported pyrazolyl ligands are quite useful for building multimetallic architectures. Some of these ligands are prone to P-N bond hydrolysis upon metalation, but we have exploited the P-N bond sensitivity to generate hydrolyzed ligands in situ, which are useful to build multimetal assemblies. In addition, the intimate relationship between small molecule cyclophosphazenes and the corresponding pendant cyclophosphazene-containing polymer systems facilitated our design of polymer-supported catalysts for phosphate ester hydrolysis, plasmid DNA modification, and C-C bond formation reactions. Phosphorus hydrazides containing reactive amine groups are ideal precursors for integration into more complex ligand systems. The ligand (S)P[N(Me)N=CH-C(6)H(4)-2-OH](3) (LH(3)) contains six coordination sites, and its coordination response depends upon the oxidation state of the metal ion employed. LH(3) reacts with divalent transition metal ions to afford neutral trimetallic derivatives L(2)M(3), where the three metal ions are arranged in a perfectly linear manner in many cases. Incorporating an additional methoxy group into LH(3) affords the ligand (S)P[N(Me)N=CH-C(6)H(3)-2-OH-3-OMe](3) (L'H(3)), which contains nine coordination sites: three imino nitrogen atoms, three phenolate oxygen atoms, and three methoxy oxygen atoms. The reaction of L'H(3) with transition metal salts in 1:1 ratio leads to the in situ formation of a metalloligand (L'M), which on further treatment with lanthanide salts gives heterobimetallic trinuclear cationic complexes [L'(2)M(2)Ln](+) containing a M-Ln-M linear array (M = transition metal ion in a +2 oxidation state). Many of these 3d-4f compounds behave as single-molecule magnets at low temperatures. Although challenges remain in the development of synthetic methods and in the architectural control of the coordination platforms, we see opportunities for further research into coordination platforms supported by main group elements such as phosphorus. As we have shown in this Account, one potential disadvantage, sensitivity of P-N bonds to hydrolysis, can be used successfully to build larger assemblies.