Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 12, 2026
Preparation of 6-aminocyclohepta-2,4-dien-1-one Derivatives via Tricarbonyltroponeiron
Published on: August 12, 2019
Synthesis and protonation of an encumbered iron tetraisocyanide dianion
Charles C Mokhtarzadeh1, Grant W Margulieux1, Alex E Carpenter1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive Mail Code 0358, La Jolla California 92093-0358, United States.
Abstract:
Reported here are synthetic studies probing highly reduced iron centers in an encumbering tetraisocyano ligand environment. Treatment of FeCl2 with sodium amalgam in the presence of 2 equiv of the m-terphenyl isocyanide CNAr(Mes2) (Ar(Mes2) = 2,6-(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)2C6H3) produces the disodium tetraisocyanoferrate Na2[Fe(CNAr(Mes2))4]. Structural characterization of Na2[Fe(CNAr(Mes2))4] revealed a tight ion pair, with the Fe center adopting a tetrahedral coordination geometry consistent with a d(10) metal center. Attempts to disrupt the cation-anion contacts in Na2[Fe(CNAr(Mes2))4] with cation-sequestration reagents lead to decomposition, except for the case of 18-crown-6, where a mononuclear complex featuring a dianionic 1-azabenz[b]azulene ligand was isolated in low yield. Formation of this 1-azabenz[b]azulene is rationalized to proceed by an aza-Büchner ring expansion of a CNAr(Mes2) ligand mediated by a coordinatively unsaturated Fe center. Disodium tetraisocyanoferrate Na2[Fe(CNAr(Mes2))4] is readily protonated by trimethylsilanol (HOSiMe3) to produce the monohydride ferrate salt, Na[HFe(CNAr(Mes2))4], the anionic portion of which serves as an isocyano analogue of the hydrido-tetracarbonyl metalate [HFe(CO)4](-). Treatment of Na[HFe(CNAr(Mes2))4] with methyl triflate (MeOTf; OTf = [O3SCF3](-)) at low temperature in the presence of dinitrogen yields the five-coordinate Fe(0) complex Fe(N2)(CNAr(Mes2))4. The formation of Fe(N2)(CNAr(Mes2))4 in this reaction is consistent with the intermediacy of the neutral tetraisocyanide Fe(CNAr(Mes2))4. The decomposition of Fe(N2)(CNAr(Mes2))4 to the dimeric complex [Fe(η(6)-(Mes)-μ(2)-C-CNAr(Mes))]2 and a seven-membered cyclic imine derived from a CNAr(Mes2) ligand is presented and provides insight into the ability of CNAr(Mes2) and related m-terphenyl isocyanides to stabilize zerovalent four-coordinate iron complexes in a strongly π-acidic ligand field.
Related Concept Videos
03:45Formation of Complex Ions
02:34Structural 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...
03:02Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
02:42Valence Bond Theory
01:19Nitrosation of Enols
02:51Metal-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...