title: Electronic structure study of seven-coordinate first-row transition metal complexes derived from 1,10-diaza-15-crown-5: a successful marriage of theory with experiment.
abstract: A detailed study of the electronic structure of seven-coordinate Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) complexes with the lariat ether N,N'-bis(2-aminobenzyl)-1,10-diaza-15-crown-5 (L(1)) is presented. These complexes represent new examples of structurally characterized seven-coordinate (pentagonal bipyramidal) complexes for the Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) ions. The X-ray crystal structures of the Mn(II) and Co(II) complexes show C(2) symmetries for the [M(L(1))](2+) cations, whereas the structures of the Ni(II) complexes show a more distorted coordination environment. The magnetic properties of the Mn(II) complex display a characteristic Curie law, whereas those of the Co(II) and Ni(II) ions show the occurrence of zero-field splitting of the S = 3/2 and 1 ground states, respectively. Geometry optimizations of the [M(L(1))](2+) systems (M = Mn, Co, or Ni) at the DFT (B3LYP) level of theory provide theoretical structures in good agreement with the experimental data. Electronic structure calculations predict a similar ordering of the metal-based beta spin frontier MO for the Mn(II) and Co(II) complexes. This particular ordering of the frontier MO leads to a pseudodegenerate ground state for the d(8) Ni(II) ion. The distortion of the C(2) symmetry in [Ni(L(1))](2+) is consistent with a Jahn-Teller effect that removes this pseudodegeneracy. Our electronic structure calculations predict that the binding strength of L(1) should follow the trend Co(II) approximately Mn(II) > Ni(II), in agreement with experimental data obtained from spectrophotometric titrations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Fundamental, Universidade da Coruña, Campus da Zapateira s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Platas-Iglesias
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaiana
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Esteban-Gómez
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Avecilla
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Real
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Blas
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Blas