Cation-/Ligand-Induced Solvent-Assisted Transformations of Zn(II) and Cu(II) Complexes Featuring Single-Pocket Multidentate Chelating Members

A new family of single-pocket metal complexes bearing O,N,O-tridentate and O,N-bidentate chelating members {Cu, 1b (P21/n); Ni, 1c (C2/c); Mn, 1d (I2/a); Cu, 2b; and Ni, 2c (both P21/c)}, starting from synthesized and fully characterized Zn(II) (1a; I2/a) and Cu(II) (2a; C2) precursors, were conveniently prepared via cation-induced solvent-assisted and ligand-induced solvent-assisted transformations. Herein, we show multistep solvent-assisted transformations from cis-1a → trans-1b → cis-1c → cis-1d, as well as all-trans 2a → 2b → 2c. All processes are one-way irreversible, as substantiated by thermodynamic aspects (enthalpies based on Gibbs free energies) derived from density functional theory calculations. On the other hand, complex 2a′ (C2/c; a polymorphic form of 2a) was obtained through a routine synthetic procedure. The compounds have been established by various spectroscopic techniques (infrared, UV–vis, ESI-MS, 1H, and 13C NMR), elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography. Single-crystal X-ray studies reveal that complexes 1a–d exhibit a pseudo-octahedral geometry around each metal center, with 2a displaying a four-coordinate seesaw geometry Cu(II) sphere (Addison parameter; τ = 0.42), while 2a′ (τ = 0.00), 2b (τ = 0.00), and 2c (τ = 0.00) possess a perfect square-planar configuration around each metal center. Furthermore, distortion is stabilized by the presence of peripheral O-donor atoms from the bulky −OMe group, and by virtue of its size, increased bond lengths and angles are accommodated. Ligand substitution induced coordination geometry transformation from quasi-square-planar 2a to perfect square-planar 2b. Assessment of the metric parameter shows that the distances between the two Cu–Omethoxy are all largely positive due to Jahn–Teller distortion, indicating an unprecedented tetragonal bipyramidal geometry in 1b.