Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse
Published on: November 10, 2010
Seeking Redox Activity in a Tetrazinyl Pincer Ligand: Installing Zerovalent Cr and Mo
Nicholas A Maciulis1, Richard N Schaugaard1, Yaroslav Losovyj1
1Department of Chemistry , Indiana University , Bloomington , Indiana 47405 , United States.
Abstract:
Reaction of the readily reduced pincer ligand bis-tetrazinylpyridine, btzp, with the zerovalent metal source M(CO)3(MeCN)3 yields M(btzp)2 for M = Cr, Mo. These diamagnetic molecules show intrapincer bond lengths consistent with major charge transfer from metal to ligand, a result which is further supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These molecules show up to five reversible outer-sphere electron transfers by cyclic voltammetry. The electronic structure of neutral M(btzp)2 is analyzed by DFT and CASSCF calculations, which reveal the degree of back-donation from the metal into pincer π* orbitals and also subtle differences in metal-ligand interaction for Mo vs Cr. Near-IR absorptions exhibited by both M(btzp)2 species originate from charge transfer among differently reduced tetrazine rings, which thus further support pincer reduction in these species.
Related Concept Videos
Balancing Redox Equations
Redox Reactions
Redox Reactions
Ligand Binding and Linkage
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...
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...

