Macrocyclic complexes, thermodynamics

A very large number of synthetic, as well as many natural, macrocycles have now been studied in considerable depth. A major thrust of many of these studies has been to investigate the unusual properties frequently associated with cyclic ligand complexes. In particular, the investigation of spectral, electrochemical, structural, kinetic, and thermodynamic aspects of macrocyclic complex formation have all received considerable attention. 

It is important to note that, even when the coordination geometry prescribed by the macrocyclic cavity is ideal for the metal ion involved, unusual kinetic and thermodynamic properties may also be observed (relative to the corresponding open-chain ligand complex). For example, very often the macrocyclic complex will exhibit both enhanced thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities (kinetic stability occurs when there is a reluctance for the ligand to dissociate from its metal ion). These increased stabilities are a manifestation of what has been termed the macrocyclic effect - the multi-faceted origins of which will be discussed in detail in subsequent chapters. 

In the preceding chapter, thermodynamic aspects of macrocycle complexation were treated in some detail. In this chapter, kinetic aspects are discussed. Of course, kinetic and thermodynamic factors are interrelated. Thus, in terms of a simple complexation reaction of the type given below (charges not shown), the stability constant (/CML) may be expressed directly as the ratio of the second-order formation constant (kf) to the first-order dissociation rate constant (kd) ... 

In the last three decades, the complexes formed with macrocyclic ligands were intensively studied. The thermodynamic data of Zn(II)-macrocyclic complexes were collected and presented by Izatt etal. [129-131]. Examples of studies of Zn(II) complexes with macrocyclic ligands were described ([132-137] and works cited therein). 

The thermodynamic data of Eq. (11) for the various Ni(II) macrocyclic complexes are summarized in Table IV. Since the octahedral species should have longer Ni—N bond distances than the square-planar species, the complexes with flexible macrocyclic ligands have larger values. For example, the formation constants of octahedral species for... 

Nickel(II) complexes with a variety of tetraaza macrocycles have been found to undergo facile one-electron redox reactions. Such reactions have been accomplished by means of both chemical and electrochemical procedures. The kinetic inertness and thermodynamic stability of the tetraaza macrocyclic complexes of nickel(II) make them particularly suitable systems for the study of redox processes. A very extensive summary of the potentials for the redox reactions of nickel(II) complexes with a variety of macrocycles is given in ref. 2622. 

The hexahydropyrimidine (58), formed from l-phenylpropane-l,2-dione and propane-1,3-diamine, is an excellent precursor for the a-diimine macrocyclic complexes (60), presumably via the amino ketone (59) (Scheme 36).126 In this case, intramolecular cyclization of (59) to (58) is reversible, so that the metal ion can exert a thermodynamic template effect in formation of the complex (60). This represents a further example of a long-known phenomenon in which a metal ion can stabilize an a-diimine structure by virtue of the formation of stable five-membered chelate rings. Many 2-hydroxy- or 2-mercapto-amines undergo reaction with a-dicarbonyl compounds to yield heterocyclic compounds rather than a-diimines. However, in the presence of suitable metal... 

The thermodynamic and kinetic stabilization ofnickel(III) macrocyclic complexes by axial coordination has prompted a number of new approaches. Studies with tetraaza macrocyclic ligands with pendant donors acting as potential fifth ligands have had some success (96, 99,100). Oxidation of [Ni"[14]aneN4CH2CH2py]2+ in aqueous solution... 

The review articles summarizing the thermodynamics of cation-macrocycle complexes are R. M. Izatt, J. S. Bradshaw, S. A. Nielsen, J. D. Lamb, and J. J. Christensen, Thermodynamic and Kinetic Data for Cation-Macrocycle Interaction , Chem. Rev., 85, 271-339 (1985). R. M. Izatt, K. Pawlak, and J. S. Bradshaw, Thermodynamic and Kinetic Data for Macrocycle Interaction with Cations and Anions , Chem. Rev., 91, 1721-2085 (1991). 

Chapters 15 and 16 especially demonstrate the broad range of application of thermodynamics to chemical processes. In the discussions of the Haber cycle, synthesis of diamond, solubility of calcite, and the thermodynamics of metabolism, techniques are used to solve a specific problem for a particular substance. On the other hand, in the discussion of macrocyclic complexes, the description and interpretation involves the comparison of the properties of a number of complexes. This global approach is particularly helpful in the description of the energetics of ternary oxides in Chapter 15 and the stabilities of proteins and DNA in Chapter 16, where useful conclusions are obtained only after the comparison of a large amount of experimental data. 

Why is it that these metal-directed reactions are so dominant in the preparative chemistry of macrocyclic ligands The answer to this lies in part in the great stability that is often associated with macrocyclic complexes. Very often, the complexes exhibit high kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities. 

The value of log K for the copper complex of 6.24 is 4.3, whilst for that of 6.23 it is 1.97. The macrocyclic complex is thus about 100 times more stable than the open-chain complex, and this is presumably due to the macrocyclic effect. In this case, thermodynamic measurements have shown that Afor the macrocyclic and open-chain complexes are almost identical, and so the macrocyclic effect is due almost entirely to the entropy term. However, even with these ligands the involvement of solvation may not be neglected entirely. The stability values given above are for the complexes in aqueous solution if the measurements are repeated in 80 % aqueous methanol, the value of log K for the formation of the macrocyclic complex is only 3.5. A hole-size effect (section 6.6) is also apparent if we move to the larger thioether macrocycle 6.26. For the formation of the copper complex of 6.26 (again in 80 % aqueous methanol) log K is found to be 0.95. 

The thermodynamic stability of the macrocyclic complex provides one of the driving forces for cyclisation in template reactions. In a way, co-ordination of the macrocycle to the metal ion provides a thermodynamic sink into which the reaction product can fall. This is clearly of importance when we consider the reactions such as the formation of metal... 

In addition to their thermodynamic stability, complexes of macrocyclic ligands are also kinetically stable with respect to the loss of metal ion. It is often very difficult (if not impossible) to remove a metal from a macrocyclic complex. Conversely, the principle of microscopic reversibility means that it is equally difficult to form the macrocyclic complexes from a metal ion and the free macrocycle. We saw earlier that it was possible to reduce co-ordinated imine macrocycles to amine macrocyclic complexes in order to remove the nickel from the cyclam complex that is formed, prolonged reaction with hot potassium cyanide solution is needed (Fig. 6-24). 

In this article the design, synthesis and d-block metal ion chemistry of some more recent examples of covalently-linked, macrocyclic ligand systems are discussed. The use of macrocyclic rings in such systems is not surprising given that the resulting macrocyclic complexes often exhibit both enhanced kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities and hence tend to retain their integrity under a variety of conditions - a lesson that nature knows well. 

The most thermodynamically stable and kinetically inert complexes of the trivalent lanthanides are those of the ligand DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetate) (42, 43). Our search for lanthanide macrocyclic complexes that would remain intact for longer time periods led us to examine derivatives of DOTA. There are two potential difficulties with the use of DOTA complexes of the trivalent lanthanides for RNA cleavage. First, the overall negative charge on the complex is not conducive to anion binding for example, Gd(DOTA)-does not bind hydroxide well (44). Second, DOTA complexes of the middle lanthanides Eu(III) and Gd(III) have only one available coordination site for catalysis. The previous lanthanide complexes that we used, e.g., Eu(L1)3+, were good catalysts and had at least two available coordination sites. 

In the crown ethers (18) the interactions between the ligand and metal ion are considered to be more electrostatic in nature, rather than the covalent binding observed for the transition metal complexes of the aza, thia, and phospha macrocycles. The thermodynamic properties of these macrocycles have been extensively studied, with numerous reviews covering complexation, selectivity, and structural aspects, some with extensive tables of thermodynamic data. Considerable efforts have been made to correlate the interrelationship between cavity size of the macrocycles and stability of alkali and alkaline earth metal complexes. From X-ray and CPK models, cavity radii are determined as 0.86-0.92A for 15-crown-5 (64), 1.34-1.43 A for 18-crown-6 (65), and about 1.7 A for 21-crown-7 (66). For complex formation between the alkali metal ions and 18-crown-6, the maximum stability... 

Quantitative data are sparse for phosphorus macrocycle complex stabilities. However, the broad thermodynamic principles that apply to nitrogen systems should apply to those of phosphorus. The macrocylic effect is the net effect of a number of factors, inter alia changes in entropy, enthalpy, pH, solvent effects, ring size, and conformation, that results... 

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