Issue 9, 2010

Cyclooctatetraene in metal complexes—planar does not mean aromatic

Abstract

The cyclooctatetraene (COT) ring may act as an effective π-type ligand in metal complexes and very often in such complexes it adopts the planar structure, which in fact is not the most favourable conformation when compared with the free COT molecule. Such planarization is usually considered as an effect of COT ring aromatization due to charge transfer from the metal centre into the COT ligand and reorganization of the π-electron structure from a 4n to 4n+2 Hückel system. In this paper it has been shown that the conformational changes of the COT ring, leading to its planarization and partial bond equalization, in the first order are connected with the complexation efficiency and not with the aromatization of COT itself. Such a conclusion was drawn on the basis of statistical analysis of X-ray data collected in the Crystal Structure Database (47 COT rings were taken into consideration, all found in the selected highest quality X-ray measurements) and advanced quantum-chemical calculations, including analysis of the electron density distribution made in the framework of Atoms-in-Molecules Quantum Theory.

Graphical abstract: Cyclooctatetraene in metal complexes—planar does not mean aromatic

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Jan 2010
Accepted
29 Mar 2010
First published
18 May 2010

New J. Chem., 2010,34, 1855-1861

Cyclooctatetraene in metal complexes—planar does not mean aromatic

J. Dominikowska and M. Palusiak, New J. Chem., 2010, 34, 1855 DOI: 10.1039/C0NJ00060D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements