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Published on: December 16, 2013
Manipulating metal-ligand binding in allosteric coordination complexes through ring strain
Yiming Hu1, Fiona Yihan Wang1, Yi Xie1
1Department of Chemistry and International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. chadnano@northwestern.edu.
Abstract:
The weak-link approach (WLA) to organometallic complexes offers a powerful method to create allosteric shape-shifting coordination complexes. However, chemically tuning the metal-ligand interactions entails challenging syntheses. This study explores the influence of ring strain on the lability of the platinum-sulfur interaction within WLA complexes, providing a simpler alternative to chemical modifications. We study the relationship of ring size, and subsequent reactivity within 4- to 8-membered WLA cyclic Pt coordination complexes through solution and solid-state studies. These results show that strain can direct the energetic preference for the desired allosteric states and therefore, the choice of small molecule effectors required to facilitate such interconversions.
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