Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025
Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
Tuning Cobalt(II) Phosphine Complexes to be Axially Ambivalent
Jack Thomas-Colwell1, Arvin Sookezian1, Daniel A Kurtz2
1Department of Chemistry, Occidental College, Los Angeles, California 90041, United States.
Abstract:
We report the isolation and characterization of a series of three cobalt(II) bis(phosphine) complexes with varying numbers of coordinated solvent ligands in the axial position. X-ray quality crystals of [Co(dppv)2][BF4]2 (1), [Co(dppv)2(NCCH3)][BPh4]2 (2), and [Co(dppv)2(NCCH3)2][BF4]2 (3) (dppv = cis-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene) were grown under slightly different conditions, and their structures were compared. This analysis revealed multiple crystallization motifs for divalent cobalt(II) complexes with the same set of phosphine ligands. Notably, the 4-coordinate complex 1 is a rare example of a square-planar cobalt(II) complex, the first crystallographically characterized square-planar Co(II) complex containing only neutral, bidentate ligands. Characterization of the different axial geometries via EPR and UV-visible spectroscopies showed that there is a very shallow energy landscape for axial ligation. Ligand field angular overlap model calculations support this conclusion, and we provide a strategy for tuning other ligands to be axially labile on a phosphine scaffold. This methodology is proposed to be used for designing cobalt phosphine catalysts for a variety of oxidation and reduction reactions.
Related Concept Videos
02:42Valence Bond Theory
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...
02:34Structural 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...
02:52Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...