Thermodynamics coordination complex formation

Kazakov VP, Ostakhov SS, Voloshin AI, Alyab ev AS. Effect of the excited 4f level of Eu(fod)3 (Hfod-heptafluorodimethyloctanedione) on the kinetics and thermodynamics of complex formation in solution. Participation of f electrons in coordination bonds. Russ J Coord Chem 2001 27 138-44. 

A detailed discussion of the thermodynamics of complex formation in aqueous solution lies beyond the scope of this book, but we discuss briefly entropy changes that accompany the formation of coordination compounds in solution, and the so-called chelate ejfect. In Chapter 20, we look further at the thermodynamics of complex formation. 

Under these conditions, the formation rate constant, k, can be estimated from the product of the outer sphere stability constant, Kos, and the water loss rate constant, h2o, (equation (28) Table 2). The outer sphere stability constant can be estimated from the free energy of electrostatic interaction between M(H20)q+ and L and the ionic strength of the medium [5,164,172,173]. Consequently, Kos does not depend on the chemical nature of the ligand. A similar mechanism will also apply to a coordination complex with polydentate ligands, if the rate-limiting step is the formation of the first metal-ligand bond [5]. Values for the dissociation rate constants, k, are usually estimated from the thermodynamic equilibrium constant, using calculated values of kf ... 

Exactly the same problem arises with the recent studies of NiO solubility by Tremaine and Leblanc (25) and again the thermodynamic data on the aqueous anionic species at 300 C are likely to be more reliable than on the Ni + ion. There is good spectroscopic evidence for complex formation in chlorides of nickel (II), (26) cobalt (II) (27), and copper (II) (28) at 300°C and above. Most of the work was done at rather high Cl concentrations but qualitatively the effects of dielectric constant and concentration are as expected. A noteworthy feature (which estimation procedures will have to allow for) is the change from 6 to 4 coordination at the lower pressures (150-300 bar) and the higher Cl concentrations. This change appears to take place with only 2 or 3 Cl ions coordinated to the metal (at least in the case of Ni(II)). 

This account is concerned with the rate and mechanism of the important group of reactions involving metal complex formation. Since the bulk of the studies have been performed in aqueous solution, the reaction will generally refer, specifically, to the replacement of water in the coordination sphere of the metal ion, usually octahedral, by another ligand. The participation of outer sphere complexes (ion pair formation) as intermediates in the formation of inner sphere complexes has been considered for some time (122). Thermodynamic, and kinetic studies of the slowly reacting cobalt(III) and chromium(III) complexes (45, 122) indicate active participation of outer sphere complexes. However, the role of outer sphere complexes in the reactions of labile metal complexes and their general importance in complex formation (33, 34, 41, 111) had to await modern techniques for the study of very rapid reactions. Little evidence has appeared so far for direct participation of the... 

We can now make sensible guesses as to the order of rate constant for water replacement from coordination complexes of the metals tabulated. (With the formation of fused rings these relationships may no longer apply. Consider, for example, the slow reactions of metal ions with porphyrine derivatives (20) or with tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine, where the rate determining step in the incorporation of metal ion is the dissociation of the pyrrole N-H bond (164).) The reason for many earlier (mostly qualitative) observations on the behavior of complex ions can now be understood. The relative reaction rates of cations with the anion of thenoyltrifluoroacetone (113) and metal-aqua water exchange data from NMR studies (69) are much as expected. The rapid exchange of CN " with Hg(CN)4 2 or Zn(CN)4-2 or the very slow Hg(CN)+, Hg+2 isotopic exchange can be understood, when the dissociative rate constants are estimated. Reactions of the type M+a + L b = ML+(a "b) can be justifiably assumed rapid in the proposed mechanisms for the redox reactions of iron(III) with iodide (47) or thiosulfate (93) ions or when copper(II) reacts with cyanide ions (9). Finally relations between kinetic and thermodynamic parameters are shown by a variety of complex ions since the dissociation rate constant dominates the thermodynamic stability constant of the complex (127). A recently observed linear relation between the rate constant for dissociation of nickel complexes with a variety of pyridine bases and the acidity constant of the base arises from the constancy of the formation rate constant for these complexes (87). 

Eichhom and his co-workers have thoroughly studied the kinetics of the formation and hydrolysis of polydentate Schiff bases in the presence of various cations (9, 10, 25). The reactions are complicated by a factor not found in the absence of metal ions, i.e, the formation of metal chelate complexes stabilizes the Schiff bases thermodynamically but this factor is determined by, and varies with, the central metal ion involved. In the case of bis(2-thiophenyl)-ethylenediamine, both copper (II) and nickel(II) catalyze the hydrolytic decomposition via complex formation. The nickel (I I) is the more effective catalyst from the viewpoint of the actual rate constants. However, it requires an activation energy cf 12.5 kcal., while the corresponding reaction in the copper(II) case requires only 11.3 kcal. The values for the entropies of activation were found to be —30.0 e.u. for the nickel(II) system and — 34.7 e.u. for the copper(II) system. Studies of the rate of formation of the Schiff bases and their metal complexes (25) showed that prior coordination of one of the reactants slowed down the rate of formation of the Schiff base when the other reactant was added. Although copper (more than nickel) favored the production of the Schiff bases from the viewpoint of the thermodynamics of the overall reaction, the formation reactions were slower with copper than with nickel. The rate of hydrolysis of Schiff bases with or/Zw-aminophenols is so fast that the corresponding metal complexes cannot be isolated from solutions containing water (4). 

Such complexes form a precursor to a full discussion of the vast and highly topical field of self-assembly (Chapter 10). We consider them here since they resemble structurally the types of compounds discussed in Section 4.7, but unlike metal-based anion receptors the simple thermodynamic equilibrium between host, anion and complex is not the only process occurring in solution. In fact multiple equilibria are occurring covering all possible combinations of interaction between anions, cations and ligands. These systems have the appeal that the formation of particular metal coordination complexes are thus subject to thermodynamic anion templating (cf. the thermodynamic template effect in macrocycle synthesis, Section 3.9.1) and vice versa. 

At the same time, this method has a series of disadvantages. Among them, we note the possibiity of contamination of the final product not only by the excess of one of the reactants [2], but also by complexes of the components of the ligand system. So, to carry out strictly template synthesis experiments, it is necessary to take into account a comparative stability of coordination compounds, obtained on the basis of initial components-precursors and the ligand itself. Not only the thermodynamic characteristics of complex-formation processes should be taken into consideration [326,327], but also the influence of solvolysis processes (especially hydrolysis) and the type of atmosphere (air oxygen). 

The reaction control should be emphasized amongst the conditions of reactions of competitive complex formation [19,23], It is necessary to take into account that it is possible to determine, and frequently predict, the direction of the electrophilic attack to the donor center of di- and polyfunctional donors (ligands) only in the case when the thermodynamically stable products are formed under conditions of kinetic control. Thus, the thermodynamic stability of complexes is discussed, when the bond between the metal and di- and polydentate ligands is localized in the place of primary attack on one of any of the donor centers by the electrophilic reagent, without further change of coordination mode in the reaction of complex formation. 

The parameterization of a force field can be based on any type of experimental data that is directly related to the results available from molecular mechanics calculations, i. e., structures, nuclear vibrations or strain energies. Most of the force fields available, and this certainly is true for force fields used in coordination chemistry, are, at least partially, based on structural data. The Consistent Force Field (CFF)197,106,1071 is an example of a parameterization scheme where experimentally derived thermodynamic data (e. g., heats of formation) have been used to tune the force field. Such data is not readily available for large organic compounds or for coordination complexes. Also, spectroscopic data have only rarely been used for tuning of inorganic force field parameters113,74,1081. 

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