14
M.E. Bluhm et al. / Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 212 (2004) 13–18
solution in toluene) and all other anilines were purchased
commercially and used as received.
at 5 ◦C over night. Colorless crystals of 2b formed which
were filtered and washed with n-hexane, yield: 0.08 g
(0.18 mmol, 8%). 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.26 (d, 2H, Py-Hm),
7.82 (t, 1H, Py-Hp), 7.53 (d, 4H, Haryl), 6.82 (d, 4H, Haryl),
2.31 (s, 6H, N=CMe); 13C NMR (CDCl3) δ 166.5, 153.5,
152.9, 135.6, 125.4 (q), 125.1 (q), 124.9 (q), 121.3, 117.8,
15.0. EI+-MS m/z = 449 (M+); FI+-HR-MS: m/z 449.1327
(calcd.), found 449.1260 for C23H17N3F6, δ = 6.7 mDa;
mp = 141 ◦C.
2.1. Synthesis of ligands
2,6-Bis[1-(3-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine (1a) [19]:
2,6-diacetylpyridine (0.74 g, 4.5 mmol) was stirred with
m-anisidine (1.83 g, 15 mmol, 3.3 eq) in 20 ml of dry ben-
zene at ambient temperature in the presence of 8.5 g of
molecular sieves. The reaction was performed under argon
in a closed flask for approximately 50 days. Then the reac-
tion mixture was filtered, the solvent was removed under
reduced pressure and a yellow oil was obtained. A few ml of
n-hexane were added to the oil and the mixture was stored
at 5 ◦C over night. A yellow precipitate formed which was
filtered and washed with n-hexane. Yield: 1.1 g (3.0 mmol,
66%). 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.26 (d, 2H, Py-Hm), 7.80 (t, 1H,
Py-Hp), 7.22 (t, 2H, Haryl), 6.61 (d, 2H, Haryl), 6.38–6.34
(m, 4H, Haryl), 3.76 (s, 6H, OMe), 2.34 (s, 6H, N=CMe);
13C NMR (CDCl3) δ 167.9, 160.7, 155.8, 153.1, 137.2,
130.3, 122 7, 111.9, 109.6, 105.3, 55.6, 16.6. EI+-MS
m/z = 373 (M+); mp = 133 − 135 ◦C.
1-(6-{N-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethanimidoyl}pyridin-
2-yl)ethanone (3a): 2,6-diacetyl-pyridine (1.63 g, 10 mmol)
was stirred with 3-trifluoromethylaniline (1.61 g, 10 mmol)
in 20 ml of dry benzene at room temperature in the presence
of 11 g of molecular sieves. The reaction was performed un-
der argon in a closed flask for approximately 80 days. Then
the reaction mixture was filtered, the solvent was removed
under reduced pressure and a yellow oil was obtained.
The product was stored at 5 ◦C. Slowly a yellow precipi-
tate formed which was filtered and washed with methanol.
1
Yield: 2.1 g (7.0 mmol, 70%). H NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.38 (d,
1H, Py-Hm), 8.06 (d, 1H, Py-Hm), 7.88 (t, 1H, Py-Hp), 7.43
(t, 1H, Haryl), 7.32 (d, 1, Haryl), 7.04 (s, 1H, Haryl), 6.94 (d,
1H, Haryl), 2.71 (s, 3H, O=CMe), 2.35 (s, 3H, N=CMe);
13C NMR (CDCl3) δ 200.2, 168.3, 155.8, 152.8, 151.8,
137.8, 131.9 (q), 130.0, 125.1, 124.5 (q), 123.2, 122.9,
120.8 (q), 116.5 (q), 26.0, 16.6; EI+-MS m/z = 306 (M+);
FI+-HR-MS: m/z 306.0980 (calcd.), found 306.0917 for
C16H13N3OF3, δ = 6.3 mDa; mp = 116 − 118 ◦C.
2,6-Bis[1-(4-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine (1b) [20–
22]: 2,6-diacetylpyridine (0.38 g, 2.3 mmol) and p-anisidine
(0.67 g, 5.4 mmol, 2.3 eq) were dissolved in 16 ml of
methanol under stirring. 0.3 ml of 97% formic acid were
added to this solution and a beige precipitate slowly ap-
peared from the brown solution. The reaction mixture was
stirred for 8 h at room temperature, then the precipitate was
collected by vacuum filtration and washed with methanol.
The dried solid is a fluorescent greenish-yellow powder,
yield: 0.78 g (2.1 mmol, 91%). 1H NMR (THF-d8) δ 8.35 (d,
2H, Py-Hm), 7.89 (t, 1H, Py-Hp), 6.85 (q, 8H, Haryl), 3.78
(s, 6H, OMe), 2,42 (s, 6H, N=CMe); 13C NMR (THF-d8)
δ 164.6, 154.6, 153.9, 141.3, 134.5, 119.8, 118.8, 112.0,
52.7, 13.1; EI+-MS m/z = 373 (M+); mp = 199 ◦C.
2.2. Synthesis of ferric complexes
General procedure for the synthesis of the ferric com-
plexes (5–8a): the appropriate ligand was added to a sus-
pension of FeCl2(thf)2 [17] in dry THF in a Schlenk-flask
under argon. The mixture was stirred for 3 h at room tem-
perature, then the solvent was removed and finally the
product was dried in vacuum.
2,6-Bis[1-(phenylimino)ethyl]pyridyliron(II) chloride (5):
2,6-bis[(phenylimino)ethyl] pyridine (200 mg, 0.64 mmol),
FeCl2(thf)2 (173 mg, 0.64 mmol), THF 30 ml. Compound
5 was obtained as a dark blue powder, yield 251 mg
(0.56 mmol, 89%). FI+-HR-MS: m/z 439.0305 (calcd.),
2,6-Bis[1-(3-trifluoromethylphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine
(2a) [19]: 2,6-diacetylpyridine (0.82 g, 5.0 mmol) was
stirred with 3-trifluoromethylaniline (1.62 g, 10 mmol, 2 eq)
in 25 ml of dry benzene at ambient temperature in the
presence of 2.8 g of molecular sieves. The reaction was per-
formed under argon in a closed flask for 48 h. The molecular
sieves were removed by filtration, the reaction mixture was
concentrated and a few ml of dichloromethane were added.
The obtained pale yellow crystals were filtered and dried,
yield: 0.36 g (0.8 mmol, 16%). 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.08 (d,
2H, Py-Hm), 7.89 (t, 1H, Py-Hp), 7.48-6.94 (m, 8H, Haryl),
2.36 (s, 6H, N=CMe); EI+-MS m/z = 449 (M+).
found 439.0225 for C21H19N3Cl2Fe, δ
C21H19N3Cl2Fe: calcd. C 57.30, H 4.35, N 9.54, found C
57.0, H 4.52, N 9.28.
=
8.0 mDa;
2,6-Bis[1-(3-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyridyliron(II)
chloride (6a): 2,6-bis[1-(3-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyri-
dine 1a (200 mg, 0.54 mmol), FeCl2(thf)2 (145 mg,
0.54 mmol), THF 30 ml. Compound 6a was obtained as a
dark blue powder, yield 208 mg (0.42 mmol, 77%). C23H23-
N3O2Cl2Fe: calcd. C 55.22, H 4.63, N 8.40, found C 55.16,
H 4.65, N 8.15.
2,6-Bis[1-(4-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyridyliron(II)
chloride (6b): 2,6-bis[1-(4-methoxyphenylimino)ethyl]pyri-
dine 1b (150 mg, 0.42 mmol), FeCl2(thf)2 (109 mg,
0.42 mmol), THF 30 ml. Compound 6b was obtained as
2,6-Bis[1-(4-trifluoromethylphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine
(2b) [23]: 2,6-diacetylpyridine (0.38 g, 2.3 mmol), 4-trifluo-
romethylaniline (2.4 g, 15 mmol, 6.5 eq) and a few mil-
ligrams of p-toluenesulfonic acid were heated under reflux
in 50 ml of toluene for 15 h. Then the brown reaction
mixture was concentrated and dissolved in a mixture of
n-hexane/ethylacetate = 1:1. Filtration over silica-gel and
removal of the solvents gave a brown oil which was stored