Abstract
Synthesis and X-ray crystallographic studies of iron(II)–pybox complexes with Me2–pybox and Ph2–pybox ligands, and their corresponding complexes [Fe(Me2–pybox)(CH3CN)OTf2] and [Fe(Ph2–pybox)(CH3CN)2Cl][FeCl3] were displayed. Furthermore, the effects of the steric factor on the coordination chemistry and reactivity were discussed.
•Iron complexes with Me2–pybox and Ph2–pybox ligands have been synthesized.•All iron complexes were characterized by X-ray crystallography.•The effect of ligand on the reactivity of iron complexes was investigated.
Iron(II) complexes, [Fe(2,6-bis(4,4-dimethyl-1,3-oxazolin-2-yl)pyridine)Cl2] ((Fe(Me2–pybox)Cl2), 3) and [Fe(2,6-bis(4,4-diphenyl-1,3-oxazolin-2-yl)pyridine)Cl2] ((Fe(Ph2–pybox)Cl2), 4), have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Upon treatment of complex 3 with silver triflate and 4 with acetonitrile, [Fe(Me2–pybox)(CH3CN)OTf2] (5) and [Fe(Ph2–pybox)(CH3CN)2Cl][FeCl3] (6) were obtained, respectively. The bulkier phenyl substitutes were found not only to cause the elongation of the N–Fe bonds but also influence the reactivity of the Fe center.