Helicates, Boxes, and Polymers from Simple Pyridine-Alcohol Ligands:  the Impact of the Identity of the Transition Metal Ion

The coordination chemistry of 6-methylpyridine-2-methanol (1) and enantiopure (R)-1-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)ethanol (2) with a range of divalent first-row transition metal salts has been investigated in an effort to determine whether hydrogen-bonded helicates will form, as observed for cobalt(II) salts. Hydrogen-bonded helicates, [Cu2(1)2(1-H)2X2] (X = Cl, Br), were only observed upon combining 1 with CuCl2 and CuBr2 in MeOH solution. Other metal salts led to alternative products, viz. Cu(ClO4)2 in the presence of base gives [Cu2(1)2(1-H)2](ClO4)2, ZnCl2 and ZnBr2 give the 1-D helical coordination polymers [Zn(1-H)Cl]∞ and [Zn(1-H)Br]∞, a mixture of NiCl2 and Ni(OAc)2 produces the [Ni4(1−H)4Cl2(OAc)2(MeOH)2] cubane, NiCl2 leads to the [Ni4(1−H)4Cl4(MeOH)4] cubane, while MnCl2 gives the known cubane [Mn4(1−H)6Cl4]. The reaction of 2 with CuCl2 produces the mononuclear complex Λ-[Cu(2)2Cl]Cl, while reaction with CuBr2 leads to a dimer, Λ,Λ-[Cu2(2)3(2-H)Br2]Br, which is held together by a single hydrogen bond between the monomeric subunits. The solid-state CD spectra of these latter complexes were recorded and found to be very similar. The temperature-dependent magnetic behavior of [Cu2(1)2(1-H)2X2] (X = Cl, Br), [Cu2(1)2(1-H)2](ClO4)2, [Cu2(2)3(2-H)Br2]Br, and [Ni4(1−H)4Cl2(OAc)2(MeOH)2] was investigated. Weak antiferromagnetic coupling between the copper(II) centers is mediated by the hydrogen bonds in the [Cu2(1)2(1-H)2X2] (X = Cl, Br) complexes.