European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry

A new versatile family of cytotoxic amine–phenolato Ti^IV complexes demonstrates favored hydrolysis features which are ligand-dependent and strongly correlated to cytotoxicity. Inert small ligands lead to cytotoxic complexes, which slowly form inactive ligand-bound clusters with water, while complexes of bulky/labile phenolato ligands mostly hydrolyze to release all free ligands and are inactive.

A new inorganic-organic zigzag copper(II) complex, characterised both spectroscopically and magnetically, was linked covalently to the poly(N-vinylimidazole) polymer, PVI, on a vitreous carbon electrode surface and used as biomimetic material for the efficient analytical determination of hydrogen peroxide.

The ability of an ammonium-hydridoborate couple to transfer the proton and the hydride to an imine, as well as all othersteps involved in the catalytic reduction of imines by B(C₆F₅)₃ and H₂, are revealed by accurate density functional calculations.

A Cu^II complex with protonated 4,4′-bipyridine and 2-picolinate units shows noncovalent anion–π, lone-pair–π, π–π and hydrogen-bonding interactions in the solid state. The anion–π and lone-pair–π interactions are characterised by Bader's theory of “atoms in molecules”. An ab initio study has been performed to analyse the anion–π binding affinity of the pyridine ring.

X-ray crystal structures of six amidinate complexes [RC(NR′)₂]ECl₂ of the heaviest group 15 metals (Sb, Bi) clearly reveal the distinguished influence of both the metal atom and the amidinate substituent to the coordination geometry of the resulting complexes.

The structural preference of isomers of palladium complexes with chelating P,N-donor ligands is discussed and interpreted on the basis of the Maximum Hardness Principle with DFT calculations.

Complex-formation reactions of [Pd(AEP)(H₂O)]²⁺, where AEP = 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine, with biologically relevant ligands were studied as a function of selected nucleophiles and pH by potentiometric, UV/Vis spectrophotometric and quantum chemical techniques. Coordination of glutathione involved substitution and intramolecular isomerization from N- to S-bonded.

The coordination chemistry of 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)pyridine-based oxido pincer ligands with late transition metals reveals the formation of molecular species (complexes) in the solid state and in solution. The observed structural motifs – square-planar, trigonal-bipyramidal, square-pyramidal or octahedral – are in part interconvertible depending on the central metal atom and the solvent.

The cyclometallated complexes [(azobenzene)Pd(9S3)][X] {X = PF₆^– (6A), [(azobenzene)PdCl₂]^– (6B)} have been prepared from the reaction of [{Pd(C₆H₄N=NC₆H₅)(μ-Cl)}₂] (5) with 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (9S3). The reaction of 5 or 6A with [(HMB)Ru^II{η³-tpdt}] [3; HMB = η⁶-C₆Me₆, tpdt = S(CH₂CH₂S^–)₂] and [(Cp*)Ru^III{η³-tpdt}] (4) results in the heterobimetallic species 7 and 8, respectively.

A series of copper(I) complexes was synthesized and characterized. Their photophysical and oxygen-sensing properties were studied systematically.