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M.K. Ainooson et al. / Polyhedron 53 (2013) 295–303
tetrahedral complexes, the nickel(II) complexes are extremely sus-
ceptible to hydrolysis. Although the formation of hydrolysed nicke-
l(II) compounds were not the desired results, the hydrolysed nickel
products proved to be highly active oligomerization catalysts for
ethylene to 1-butenes and 1-hexenes.
(m, 5H, Ar-H); 8.07 (s, 1H, CH@N). IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1):
1623 (CH@N).
t
2.3. Synthesis of metal complexes
2.3.1. Bis[{2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-(2-(pyrazol-1-
yl)ethylimino)}phenolateFe(II)][tetrachloro-ferrate(II)] (1)
2. Experimental
A solution of L1 (0.26 g, 0.80 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (10 mL) was
added dropwise to a suspension of FeCl2 (0.10 g, 0.80 mmol) in
CH2Cl2 (15 mL) with constant stirring. A dark green suspension be-
gan to form after 2 min and the reaction to stirred at room temper-
ature for 18 h, leading to a dark green solution. After filtration, the
resultant solution was concentrated to about 10 mL, gently layered
with hexane (5 mL) and stored at À4 °C to precipitate a dark green
powder. The powder was isolated by filtration, washed with hex-
ane (2 Â 5 mL) and the product dried in air. Yield: 0.53 g (71%).
Anal. Calc. for C40H56Cl4N6O4Fe2: C, 51.20; H, 6.01; N, 8.96. Found:
C, 51.10; H, 6.29; N, 8.66%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 1600
2.1. Materials and instrumentation
All experiments were carried out in a dry nitrogen atmosphere.
All solvents were dried and distilled prior to use. Pyrazole, 3,5-
dimethylpyrazole, FeCl2, CoCl2, NiCl2Á6H2O and [NiBr2(DME)] were
purchased from Sigma–Aldrich and used as received. The ligands:
2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-[(2-pyrazol-1-yl-ethylimino)methyl]phenol (L1),
2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-[(2-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl-ethylimino)methyl]
phenol (L2) and 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-[(2-(3,5-diphenylpyrazol-1-
yl-ethylimino)methyl]phenol (L3), were synthesised using a proce-
dure reported by Boltina et al. [14].
t(CH@N).
Complexes 2–6 were prepared in a similar manner, using the
IR spectra were recorded on a Bruker Tensor 25 equipped with a
diamond ATR. NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian Gemini
2000 instrument (1H at 300 MHz and 13C at 75 MHz). Chemical
shifts are reported in d (ppm) and referenced to the appropriate
peak in CDCl3 used as NMR solvent. Mass spectra were run by
the Analytical Services Unit at the University of Stellenbosch
(South Africa) on a Waters API Quattro micro. Elemental analyses
were performed on a Vario elementar III microcube CHNS analyser
by the Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University (South Africa).
Gas chromatography (GC) analyses were conducted on a Varian
3900 GC equipped with an FID detector and a Factor Four Capillary
Column (VF-1ms 15 M Â 0.25 MM ID DF = 0.25).
appropriate ligand and metal salt.
2.3.2. {2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-(2-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-
yl)ethylimino)}methylphenolateFeCl (2)
The reaction of L2 (0.20 g, 0.56 mmol) and FeCl2 (0.07 g,
0.56 mmol) gave a dark green solid. Yield: 0.22 g (88%). Anal. Calc.
for C22H32ClN3OFeÁ0.5 CH2Cl2: C, 55.35; H, 6.81; N, 8.61. Found: C,
55.46; H, 6.87; N, 7.14%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 1609
t(CH@N).
ESI-MS (m/z) (%) = 479 (50%) [M]+, 445 (50%) [MÀCl]+.
2.3.3. {2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-(2-(3,5-diphenylpyrazol-1-
yl)ethylimino)}methylphenolateFeCl (3)
The reaction of L3 (0.20 g, 0.41 mmol) and FeCl2 (0.053 g,
0.42 mmol) gave a fluffy dark green solid. Yield: 0.18 g (75%). Anal.
Calc. for C32H38ClN3OFe: C, 67.20; H, 6.70; N, 7.34. Found: C, 67.57;
2.2. Synthesis of ligands
H, 6.35; N, 7.00%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 2980
t(C–H), 1609
2.2.1. [2-(3,5-Dimethyl-pyrazol-1-ylethyl)]-(3-methyl-
benzylidene)imine(L4)
t
(CH@N). ESI-MS (m/z) (%) = 570 (5%) [M]+, 534 (5%) [MÀCl]+.
A solution of 4-tert butylbenzaldehyde (1.20 g, 7.30 mmol) and
2-(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazol-1-yl)ethylamine (1.00 g, 7.20 mmol) in
ethanol (30 mL) was refluxed for 18 h. After evaporating the sol-
vent a viscous yellow oil, which later solidified to a bright yellow
crystalline mass upon leaving the oil at room temperature over-
night, was obtained. Pure L4 was isolated after recrystallization
from a 1:1 mixture of CH2Cl2 and hexane. Yield: 1.90 g (94%).
HRMS (ESI) m/z [M+H]+: Anal. Calc. for C18H27N3 284.2117. Found:
2.3.4. {2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-(2-pyrazol-1-
yl)ethylimino}methylphenolateCoCl (4)
Ligand L1 (0.90 g, 2.7 mmol) and anhydrous CoCl2 (0.34 g,
2.6 mmol) gave a green powder. Yield: 0.70 g (64%). Anal. Calc.
for C20H28ClN3OCo: C, 57.08; H, 6.70; N, 9.88. Found: C, 57.24; H,
6.89; N, 10.31%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1), 1623
t(CH@N). ESI-MS
(m/z) (%) = 711 (100%) [(L1)2Co]+; 444 (80%) [M+Na]+; 420 (10%)
[M]+.
284.2119. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 1648
t
(CH@N). 1H NMR
(CDCl3): d 1.29 (s, 9H, t-Bu); 2.14 (s, 3H, CH3); 2.18 (s, 3H, CH3);
2.3.5. {2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-(2-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-
yl)ethylimino)}methylphenolateCoCl (5)
3
3
3.94 (t, 2H, JHH = 4.5 Hz, CH2); 4.26 (t, 2H, JHH = 4.5 Hz, CH2);
3
5.64 (s, 1H, pz-H); 7.37 (d, 1H, JHH = 8.4 Hz, Ar-H); 7.55 (d, 1H,
Ligand L2 (0.22 g, 0.62 mmol) anhydrous CoCl2 (0.083 g,
0.66 mmol) gave a green powder. Yield: 0.23 g (78%). Anal. Calc.
for C22H32ClN3OCo: C, 58.87; H, 7.19; N, 9.36. Found: C, 58.32; H,
2JHH = 8.4 Hz, Ar-H); 7.91 (s, 1H, CH@N). 13C{1H} NMR (CDCl3): d
11.1; 13.5; 31.1; 34.8; 48.8; 61.4; 104.4; 125.5; 127.7 133.1;
139.8; 147.5; 154.1; 163.0.
7.65; N, 9.69%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 2990
t(OH) 1609
t
(CH@N). ESI-MS (m/z) (%) = 478 (5%) [M+Na]+.
2.2.2. 3,5-Di-tert-butyl-2-phenoxy-benzylidene)-(2-pyrazol-1-
ylethyl)imine (L5)
2.3.6. {2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-(2-(3,5-diphenylpyrazol-1-
An EtOH (15 mL) solution of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-phenoxybenz-
aldehyde (1.2 g, 3.8 mmol) was added to pyrazolyl-1-yl-ethyla-
mine (0.65 g, 5.9 mmol) in EtOH (15 mL). Anhydrous magnesium
sulfate (1.0 g) was added to this solution and refluxed for 4 h. After
filtration, the solvent was evaporated to give a yellow crystalline
solid which was recrystallized from 1:1 mixture of CH2Cl2 and hex-
ane. Yield: 0.81 g (65%). HRMS (ESI) (m/z) [M+H]+: Anal. Calc. for
yl)ethylimino)}methylphenolateCoCl (6)
Ligand L3 (0.14 g, 3.0 mmol) and anhydrous CoCl2 (0.14 g,
3.0 mmol) gave dark blue crystals. Yield: 0.11 g (62%). Anal. Calc.
for C32H36ClN3OCo: C, 67.07; H, 6.33; N, 7.33. Found: C, 67.30; H,
6.67; N, 7.22%. IR (Diamond ATR, cmÀ1): 1617
t(CH@N).
2.3.7. {2-(3,5-Dimethylpyrazol-1yl)ethylamino}NiCl2 (7)
C
26H33N3O: 404.2654. Found: 404.2659. 1H (CDCl3): d 1.17 (s, 9H,
A mixture of L4 (0.80 g, 2.8 mmol) and NiCl2Á6H2O (0.67 g,
2.8 mmol) in THF (20 mL) was refluxed for 18 h. The resultant
mixture was filtered and the filtrate evaporated to give a green
3
t-Bu); 1.40 (s, 9H, t-Bu); 3.98 (t, 2H, JHH = 5.7 Hz, CH2); 4.44 (t,
3
3
2H, JHH = 5.7 Hz,CH2); 6.23 (t, 1H, JHH = 1.8 Hz, pz-H); 7.35–7.69