A Redox-Active Hydrogen Bond Acceptor Enables Ligand Exchange in a Zinc Complex
Christin N Gilchrist1, Matthias Zeller2, John J Kiernicki1
1Department of Chemistry, Drury University, Springfield, Missouri 65802, United States.
None:
A zinc complex featuring a redox-active hydrogen bond acceptor, ferrocenecarboxylate, was designed to probe how the hydrogen bond strength could influence ligand binding at the metal. Oxidation of the redox-active hydrogen bond acceptor enabled facile ligand substitution with trifluoromethanesulfonate. Control studies confirmed that no substitution was possible without oxidation and that hydrogen bonding interactions were a necessary component for substitution to occur. Importantly, redox-tuning of the hydrogen bond acceptor can be achieved at a mild redox potential.
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