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Twenty novel Mn, Fe, and Cu complexes of ethylene cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycles with potentially copolymerizable allyl and benzyl pendant arms were synthesized and characterized. Multiple X-ray crystal structures demonstrate the cis-folded pseudo-octahedral geometry forced by the rigidifying ethylene cross-bridge and show that two cis coordination cites are available for interaction with substrate and oxidant. The Cu complexes were used to determine kinetic stability under harsh acidic and high-temperature conditions, which revealed that the cyclam-based ligands provide superior stabilization with half-lives of many minutes or even hours in 5 M HCl at 50–90 °C. Cyclic voltammetry studies of the Fe and Mn complexes reveal reversible redox processes indicating stabilization of Fe2+/Fe3+ and Mn2+/Mn3+/Mn4+ oxidation states, indicating the likelihood of catalytic oxidation for these complexes. Finally, dye-bleaching experiments with methylene blue, methyl orange, and rhodamine B demonstrate efficient catalytic decolorization and allow selection of the most successful monomeric catalysts for copolymerization to produce future heterogeneous water purification materials.

 

Ethylene cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycles are known to produce kinetically stable transition metal complexes that can act as robust oxidation catalysts under harsh aqueous conditions. We have synthesized ligand analogs with single acetate pendant arms that act as pentadentate ligands to Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn. These complexes have been synthesized and characterized, including the structural characterization of four Co and Cu complexes. Cyclic voltammetry demonstrates that multiple oxidation states are stabilized by these rigid, bicyclic ligands. Yet, redox potentials of the metal complexes are modified compared to the “parent” ligands due to the pendant acetate arm. Similarly, gains in kinetic stability under harsh acidic conditions, compared to parent complexes without the pendant acetate arm, were demonstrated by a half-life seven times longer for the cyclam copper complex. Due to the reversible, high oxidation states available for the Mn and Fe complexes, the Mn and Fe complexes were examined as catalysts for the bleaching of three commonly used pollutant model dyes (methylene blue, methyl orange, and Rhodamine B) in water with hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The efficient bleaching of these dyes was observed. 

Tetraazamacrocycles, cyclic molecules with four nitrogen atoms, have long been known to produce highly stable transition metal complexes. Cross-bridging such molecules with two-carbon chains has been shown to enhance the stability of these complexes even further. This provides enough stability to use the resulting compounds in applications as diverse and demanding as aqueous, green oxidation catalysis all the way to drug molecules injected into humans. Although the stability of these compounds is believed to result from the increased rigidity and topological complexity imparted by the cross-bridge, there is insufficient experimental data to exclude other causes. In this study, standard organic and inorganic synthetic methods were used to produce unbridged dibenzyl tetraazamacrocycle complexes of Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn that are analogues of known cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycles and their transition metal complexes to allow direct comparison of molecules that are identical except for the cross-bridge. The syntheses of the known tetraazamacrocycles and the new transition metal complexes were successful with high yields and purity. Initial chemical characterization of the complexes was conducted by UV-Visible spectroscopy, while cyclic voltammetry showed more marked differences in electronic properties from bridged versions. Direct comparison studies of the unbridged and bridged compounds’ kinetic stabilities, as demonstrated by decomposition using high acid concentration and elevated temperature, showed that the cyclen-based complex stability did not benefit from cross-bridging. This is likely due to poor complementarity with the Cu2+ ion while cyclam-based complexes benefited greatly. We conclude that ligand–metal complementarity must be maintained in order for the topological and rigidity constraints imparted by the cross-bridge to contribute significantly to complex robustness. 

Rigid and topologically constrained ethylene cross-bridged tetraazamacrocycles have been increasingly utilised for thirty years as they form remarkably stable transition metal complexes for catalysis, biomedical imaging, and inorganic drug molecule applications. Extending these benefits to pentaazamacrocycles has been achieved and a first transition metal complex prepared and structurally characterized.