Inorganic Chemistry
Article
followed by 20 mL of 10% H2SO4. The solution was then allowed to
stir under argon for 48 h. The reaction mixture was washed with
diethyl ether (3 × 30 mL), and the organic layer was dried using
MgSO4 and evaporated to yield o-mercaptobenzyl alcohol, a yellow oil.
(82% yield) The 1H and 13C NMR spectra matched reported values.14
3-(2-Hydroxymethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile. A solution
of o-mercaptobenzyl alcohol (0.9974 g, 7.12 mmol) in 15 mL of
ethanol was prepared and degassed. This was combined with a
degassed solution of NaOH (0.4058 g, 0.01 mol) in 5 mL of H2O and
10 mL of ethanol. Degassed bromopropionitrile (0.6 mL, 7.1 mmol)
was added dropwise under air-free conditions, and the mixture was
allowed to stir at room temperature for 5 h. The resulting solution was
filtered and evaporated to yield an oily yellow solution. This was
dissolved in 25 mL of diethyl ether, washed with 10 mL of 5% NaOH
and 10 mL of H2O, then dried with MgSO4 and evaporated to yield a
suitable for X-ray diffraction were grown by diffusion of diethyl ether
into a concentrated solution of 2 in CH3CN. HR MS: m/z for
(C19H18Cl2FeN3O2S)Na+ expected = 500.973841 m/z found =
500.974354 (see Supporting Information, Figure S14). Anal. Calcd
for 2 FeC19H18Cl2N3O2S: C, 47.63; H, 3.79; N, 8.77%. Found: C,
47.77; H, 4.12; N, 8.44%. Structure was obtained using X-ray
diffraction of a single crystal.
Controlled-Potential Coulometry. Controlled-potential coulom-
etry experiments (CPC) were conducted in a closed 500 mL four-neck
round-bottom flask. Complex 2 (0.3 mg, 0.00063 mmol) was added to
50 mL of 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6)
in CH3CN. The flask was capped with two vitreous carbon electrodes
and a silver wire reference electrode, all submerged in the solution and
separated by VYCOR frits. The flask was degassed using Ar for 20 min,
while the solution was stirred. Using a Hamilton gas syringe, 10 mL of
Ar was removed from the flask and replaced with 10 mL of CH4 for
reference. A CV of the solution was then taken from −0.1 to −1.8 V
versus Fc/Fc+ to identify the potential at which proton reduction
occurs. A CPC was run at −1.6 V for 1800 s, while the solution
continued to stir. Upon completion of the experiment, a 0.10 mL
sample of vapor from the flask was removed using a Hamilton gas
syringe and injected into a GC. The ratio of H2 to CH4 in the sample
was compared to a calibration curve to determine the total volume of
H2 produced during the experiment. A faradaic yield of 98% was
observed for 2. No hydrogen was observed when the experiment was
run without catalyst.
Catalyst Concentration Dependence. A 5.2 mM stock solution
of 2 was prepared by dissolving 0.0125 g of 2 crystals with 0.1 M
TBAPF6 in CH3CN in a 5 mL volumetric flask. A 5 mL solution of 0.1
M TBAPF6 CH3CN was prepared in an electrochemical cell. 200 μL of
1.1 M TFA (44 mM) was added to the cell, which was degassed with
Ar. CVs were taken at 200 mV/s without any catalyst, then in the
presence of 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mM catalyst from the 2 stock
solution. CVs were obtained using a glassy carbon working electrode, a
Pt auxiliary, and an SCE reference electrode. The working and
auxiliary electrodes were polished with 0.05 μm alumina powder paste
prior to each acquisition. All ic values were obtained using the method
described in the Supporting Information of this work.
Scan Rate Dependence. In an electrochemical cell, 1.0 mg of 2
(2.09 μmol) was dissolved in 5 mL of CH3CN with 0.1 M TBAPF6
and degassed with argon. CVs were taken upon addition of 11 mM
TFA at various scan rates ranging from 5 to 14 V/s. CVs were
obtained using a glassy carbon working electrode, a Pt auxiliary, and an
SCE reference electrode. The working and auxiliary electrodes were
polished with 0.05 μm alumina powder.
Determination of Overpotential. The tendency of TFA to
exhibit homoconjugation in acetonitrile solutions often leads to
inaccurate determinations of overpotential if this effect is not taken
into account.11 This renders standard calculations of overpotential
using pKa unreliable.11 Overpotentials were determined by calculating
the difference between the half-wave potential of the catalytic
reduction and Eref. Eref refers to a theoretical reduction potential that
takes into account the effects of homoconjugation at acid
concentrations used in electrochemical experiments.11b This method
gave overpotential values of ∼800 mV for both TFA and tosic acid.
1
white solid, 3-(2-hydroxymethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile. The H
and 13C NMR spectra matched reported values.14
3-(2-Bromomethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile. Solid 3-(2-
hydroxymethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile (0.2739 g, 1.473 mmol)
was dissolved in 22 mL of dichloromethane and degassed with argon.
This was added to a Schlenk flask under air-free conditions, and the
reaction was cooled in an ice bath. 1.0 M PBr3 (0.6 mL, 0.6 mmol) was
added dropwise to the Schlenk, and the solution was allowed to stir for
4 h. The clear yellow-orange solution was washed with 10 mL of 10%
NaOH and 10 mL of H2O, dried with MgSO4, filtered, and evaporated
to yield 3-(2-bromomethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile as a clear
yellow oil (80% yield). The 1H and 13C NMR spectra matched
reported values.14
N-(2-Propionitilemercaptobenzyl)-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-
amine. 3-(2-bromomethylphenylsulfanyl)propionitrile (0.347 g, 1.355
mmol) was dissolved in 20 mL of ethyl acetate and degassed with
argon. This was added to an air-free Schlenk flask, followed by the
addition of a degassed solution of dipicolylamine (0.3 mL, 1.671
mmol) in 15 mL of ethyl acetate, and then a degassed solution of Et3N
(1 mL, 7.17 mmol) in 15 mL of ethyl acetate. This stirred under argon
for 72 h. The solution was then filtered and evaporated to yield N-(2-
propionitrilemercaptobenzyl)-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine, which
was purified through a silica gel column run in 7:3 ethanol/ethyl
1
acetate and collected at 59% yield. The H and 13C NMR spectra
matched reported values.14
N-(2-Mercaptobenzyl)-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (3). N-
(2-propionitrilemercaptobenzyl)-N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine
(40.7 mg, 0.112 mmol) was dissolved in 10 mL of methanol and
degassed. The solution was then combined with NaOMe (9.7 mg,
0.180 mmol) in a Schlenk flask under air-free conditions. The solution
was refluxed under argon for 72 h. The resulting clear amber colored
solution was filtered and evaporated. The resulting solid was dissolved
in 13 mL of dichloromethane (DCM) and washed with 13 mL of
deionized H2O to quench the remaining NaOMe. The lower orange-
brown organic layer was collected and evaporated to yield a brown oil.
The ligand was purified through use of a silica gel column in 9:1
DCM/MeOH. The purified N-(2-mercaptobenzyl)-N,N-bis(2-
pyridylmethyl)amine (3) was collected at 45% yield as a brown oil.
The 1H and 13C NMR spectra matched reported values.11 For a
representative 1H NMR spectrum, see Supporting Information, Figure
1
S12. H NMR (CDCl3): ∂ 8.51 (s, 2H), 7.50−7.67 (m, 4H), 7.10−
7.37 (m, 7H), 3.87 (s, 2H), 3.80 (s, 4H). High-resolution mass
spectrometry (HR MS): m/z for (C19H19N3S)H+ expected =
322.137 245 m/z found = 322.137 527.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
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[FeCl2(L-OSO)] (2). The sulfinato Fe(III) complex was synthesized
according to the following procedure: 1 (0.100 g, 0.312 mmol) and
Et3N (0.04 mL, 0.312 mmol) were dissolved in 10 mL of MeOH and
degassed with Ar. FeCl3·6H2O (0.843 g, 0.312 mmol) was dissolved in
10 mL of MeOH and degassed with Ar. The two solutions were
combined under air-free conditions to yield a brown solution with
some visible precipitate. The reaction was stirred at room temperature
for 12 h and filtered. The filtrate was evaporated, and the resulting
solid was dissolved in DCM to remove impurities through
recrystallization. Additional recrystallizations were performed in
EtOH. A dark solid of 2 was collected with a 71% yield. Crystals
S
* Supporting Information
Determination of kobs, sample calculations of kobs, CV data, GC
calibration curve, proton concentration study, peak current
density versus TFA, scan rate study, dip test study, controlled
potential coulometry, FeCl3 control study, UV−vis spectra,
tosic acid concentration study, NMR spectrum, HR-MS data,
X-ray crystallographic data (including CIF file), ORTEP
diagram, and selected bond lengths and angles. This material
E
Inorg. Chem. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX