T. Ren et al. / Inorganica Chimica Acta 357 (2004) 1313–1316
1315
3. Conclusion
-2/-3
On the basis of the one-electron oxidation potential,
Os2(ap)4Cl2 is more electron deficient than Os2(hpp)4-
Cl2, and consequently a better candidate for forming
stable complexes with more electron-donating alkynyl
ligands. With both chloro ligands semi-exposed as a
result of the cis-(2,2) geometry, Os2(ap)4Cl2 should un-
dergo faster axial ligand metathesis reactions than
Os2(DPhF)4Cl2 and the alkynylation chemistry will be
investigated in the near future.
-1/-2
0/-1
+1/0
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5
-3
Fig. 2. Cyclic voltammogram of 1 recorded in 0.20 M THF solution of
Bu4NPF6 at the scan rate of 0.10 V/s.
4. Experimental
a donor and (2) the Os2 center of higher electron density
also has a stronger Os–Os bond, which results in a
weaker bond in the trans-position, the Os–Cl bond.
Among four independent Os–N bond lengths for mol-
ecule A, the Os–Na bonds (Os(1)–N(2) and Os(1)–N(4))
are significantly shorter than the Os–Np bonds (Os(1)–
N(1) and Os(1)–N(3)), and the same is true for molecule
B.
In comparison with Os2 compounds supported by
the hpp and DPhF ligands, Os2(ap)4Cl2 has a fairly
large room temperature effective moment of 2.76 lB
that is consistent with a S ¼ 1 ground state. A rea-
sonable ground state configuration for Os2(ap)4Cl2 is
r2p4d2pꢀ2, the same configuration ascribed to
Os2(DPhF)4Cl2 [4]. It is noteworthy that, despite the
structural similarity to the aforementioned compounds,
Os2(hpp)4Cl2 has a ground state configuration of
r2p4d2dꢀ2 [5].
4.1. General conditions, reagents and instruments
Os2(OAc)4Cl2 [17] and 2-anilinopyridine [18] were
prepared as previously described. Anhydrous organic
solvents were obtained from Aldrich and used as
received. Absorption spectra were obtained with a
Perkin–Elmer Lambda-900 UV–Vis–NIR spectropho-
tometer. The magnetic susceptibility was measured at
294 K with a Johnson Matthey Mark-I Magnetic
Susceptibility Balance. Cyclic voltammograms were
recorded in 0.2 M (n-Bu)4NPF6 solution (THF, N2-
degassed) on a CHI620A voltammetric analyzer with a
glassy carbon working electrode (diameter ¼ 2 mm), a
Pt-wire auxiliary electrode and a Ag wire pseudo ref-
erence electrode, and the electrode potentials were re-
ported vs. E(Fcþ/Fc). The concentration of Os2(ap)4Cl2
was 1.0 mM.
Os2(ap)4Cl2 exhibits rich features in the cyclic vol-
tammogram (CV) shown in Fig. 2, which consists of
four one-electron waves. In analogy to the redox
chemistry of other Os2(III) species [4,5], the most anodic
wave is assigned as the oxidation of the Os2-core, and
the adjacent wave as the first reduction of the Os2 core
(Eq. (1)). The second reduction, ca. 0.90 V more nega-
tive than the first, is also attributed to a further reduc-
tion of the Os2 core. Although not noted for
Os2(hpp)4Cl2 and Os2(DPhF)4Cl2, a second reduction of
the Ru2(ap)4 core was observed recently, and the po-
tential difference between two consecutive reductions,
i.e., E(Ru2II;I/Ru2II;II) ) E(Ru2II;II/RuI2I;III), is about )1 V
[15]. The nature of the most cathodic couple at )2.30 V
remains uncertain. The E1=2(+1/0) of Os2(ap)4Cl2, 0.031
V, is in the middle of those observed for Os2(hpp)4Cl2
()0.492 V vs. Fcþ/Fc) [16] and Os2(DPhF)4Cl2 (Epa, 0.60
V, vs. Fcþ/Fc) [4], reaffirming the aforementioned order
of donor strength
4.2. Synthesis of Os2(ap)4Cl2 (1)
A round bottom flask was charged with Os2(OAc)4-
Cl2 (0.24 g, 0.35 mmol) and 2-anilinopyridine (0.51 g, 3
mmol), and 40 ml of toluene, and a micro Soxhlet ex-
traction condenser with a glass thimble containing 1:1
K2CO3/sand was mounted to the flask. The reaction
mixture was heated to reflux in open air for 3 days,
during which the initial brown suspension turned to
dark purple within the first 2 h, and then to deep blue.
Reaction mixture was filtered to remove a small amount
brownish residues that are impurities from the
Os2(OAc)4Cl2 synthesis, and toluene was distilled from
the filtrate to yield a deep blue residue. After the re-
moval of excess Hap via vacuum sublimation, the resi-
due was recrystallized from 20 ml of hot CH3OH to
yield 0.22 g (56% based on Os) of blue crystalline
material. Data for 1. FAB-MS: 1129, [MHþ]; molar
susceptibility (vmol), 3.23 ꢃ 10ꢂ3 emu; leff ¼ 2:76 lB.
Vis–NIR, kmax(nm, e (Mꢂ1 cmꢂ1), THF): 452 (4540), 632
(7820), 770(sh), 880 (1930). Electrochemical, E1=2/V (vs.
Fcþ/Fc), DEp=V , ibackward=iforward: +1/0, 0.032, 0.103,
þeꢂ
þeꢂ
1ꢂ
½Os2ðIII; IVÞꢁ1þ ꢀ ½Os2ðIII; IIIÞꢁ ꢀ ½Os2ðIII; IIÞꢁ
þeꢂ
þeꢂ
3ꢂ00
ꢀ ½Os2ðII; IIÞꢁ2ꢂ ꢀ ½Os2ðI; IIÞꢁ
ð1Þ