Effect of Redox-Inactive Metal Ion–Nickel(III) Interactions on the Redox Properties and Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Reactivity

Mononuclear nickel­(II) and nickel­(III) complexes of a bisamidate-bisalkoxide ligand, (NMe4)2[NiII(HMPAB)] (1) and (NMe4)­[NiIII(HMPAB)] (2), respectively, have been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques including X-ray crystallography. The reaction of redox-inactive metal ions (M n+ = Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Y3+, and Sc3+) with 2 resulted in 2-M n+ adducts, which was assessed by an array of spectroscopic techniques including X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and reactivity studies. The X-ray structure of Ca2+ coordinated to Ni­(III) complexes, 2-Ca2+T, was determined and exhibited an average Ni–Ca distance of 3.1253 Å, close to the metal ions’ covalent radius. XAS analysis of 2-Ca2+ and 2-Y3+ in solution further revealed an additional coordination to Ca and Y in the 2-M n+ adducts with shortened Ni–M distances of 2.15 and 2.11 Å, respectively, implying direct bonding interactions between Ni and Lewis acids (LAs). Such a short interatomic distance between Ni­(III) and M is unprecedented and was not observed before. EPR analysis of 2 and 2-M n+ species, moreover, displayed rhombic signals with g av > 2.12 for all complexes, supporting the +III oxidation state of Ni. The NiIII/NiII redox potential of 2 and 2-M n+ species was determined, and a plot of E 1/2 of 2-M n+ versus pK a of [M­(H2O) n ] m+ exhibited a linear relationship, implying that the NiIII/NiII potential of 2 can be tuned with different redox-inactive metal ions. Reactivity studies of 2 and 2-M n+ with different 4-X-2,6-ditert-butylphenol (4-X-DTBP) and other phenol derivatives were performed, and based on kinetic studies, we propose the involvement of a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathway. Analysis of the reaction products after the reaction of 2 with 4-OMe-DTBP showed the formation of a Ni­(II) complex (1a) where one of the alkoxide arms of the ligand is protonated. A pK a value of 24.2 was estimated for 1a. The reaction of 2-M n+ species was examined with 4-OMe-DTBP, and it was observed that the k 2 values of 2-M n+ species increase by increasing the Lewis acidity of redox-inactive metal ions. However, the obtained k 2 values for 2-M n+ species are much lower compared to the k 2 value for 2. Such a variation of PCET reactivity between 2 and 2-M n+ species may be attributed to the interactions between Ni­(III) and LAs. Our findings show the significance of the secondary coordination sphere effect on the PCET reactivit