Identification, Characterization, and Electronic Structures of Interconvertible Cobalt–Oxygen TAML Intermediates

The reaction of Li­[(TAML)­CoIII]·3H2O (TAML = tetraamido macrocyclic tetraanionic ligand) with iodosylbenzene at 253 K in acetone in the presence of redox-innocent metal ions (Sc­(OTf)3 and Y­(OTf)3) or triflic acid affords a blue species 1, which is converted reversibly to a green species 2 upon cooling to 193 K. The electronic structures of 1 and 2 have been determined by combining advanced spectroscopic techniques (X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), X-ray absorption spectroscopy/extended X-ray absorption fine structure (XAS/EXAFS), and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD)) with ab initio theoretical studies. Complex 1 is best represented as an S = 1/2 [(Sol)­(TAML•+)­CoIII---OH­(LA)]− species (LA = Lewis/Brønsted acid and Sol = solvent), where an S = 1 Co­(III) center is antiferromagnetically coupled to S = 1/2 TAML•+, which represents a one-electron oxidized TAML ligand. In contrast, complex 2, also with an S = 1/2 ground state, is found to be multiconfigurational with contributions of both the resonance forms [(H-TAML)­CoIVO­(LA)]− and [(H-TAML•+)­CoIIIO­(LA)]−; H-TAML and H-TAML•+ represent the protonated forms of TAML and TAML•+ ligands, respectively. Thus, the interconversion of 1 and 2 is associated with a LA-associated tautomerization event, whereby H+ shifts from the terminal −OH group to TAML•+ with the concomitant formation of a terminal cobalt-oxo species possessing both singlet (S Co = 0) Co­(III) and doublet (S Co = 1/2) Co­(IV) characters. The reactivities of 1 and 2 at different temperatures have been investigated in oxygen atom transfer (OAT) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactions to compare the activation enthalpies and entropies of 1 and 2.