Metal Salen complexes are well known as catalysts, and ubiquitous in applications ranging from medicine to materials. The modularity of the Salen ligand, synthesized by the condensation of aldehydes and diamines, allows fine-tuning for very specific applications. The divalent metals that are inserted into these Schiff base ligands sit in a tetradentate pocket created by two imine nitrogens and two phenolic oxygens. Although most first row transition metals have been successfully inserted into this N2O2 pocket, there is little literature precedence for analogous second row transition metal complexes. Herein we report syntheses of six Cd2+ Schiff base complexes, using three distinct ligands, bound traditionally to the N2O2 pocket of the Salen ligand platform. Owing to the preference of Cd2+ for a higher coordination number than first row transition metals, these complexes form as dimers, with each metal sharing donors from both ligands. Unequivocal spectroscopic evidence (1H NMR, CHN microanalyses, XRD) confirm both identity and purity of these novel complexes.

Serendipitous discovery of high-coordinate Cd(II) salen dimer complexes

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.