Cr(III)-Tetraaza Macrocyclic Complexes Containing Auxiliary Ligands (Part IV); Synthesis and Characterization of Cr(III)-Acetylacetonato, -Malonato and -Oxalato Macrocyclic Complexes

The reaction of cis-[Cr([14]-decane)$(OH)_2]^+$ ([14]-decane = rac-5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-teraazacyclotetradecane) with auxiliary ligands {$L_a$ = acetylacetonate (acac), oxalate (ox) or malonate (mal)} leads to a new cis-[Cr([14]-decane)(acac)]$(ClO_4)_2{\cdot}(1/2)H_2O\;(1),\;cis-[Cr([14]-decane)(ox)]ClO_4{\cdot}(1/2)H_2O\;(2)\;or\;cis-[Cr([14]-decane)(mal)]ClO_4{\cdot}(1/4)H_2O\;(3)$. These complexes have been characterized by a combination of elemental analysis, conductivity, IR and Vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography. Analysis of the crystal structure of cis-[Cr([14]-decane)(acac)]$(ClO_4)_2{\cdot}(1/2)H_2O$ reveals that central chromium(III) has a distorted octahedral coordination environment and two acetylacetonate-oxygen atoms are bonded to the chromium(III) ion in the cis positions. The angle $N_{axial}-Cr-N_{axial}$ deviates by $11^{\circ}$ from the ideal value of $180^{\circ}$ for a perfect octahedron. The bond angle O-Cr-O between the chromium(III) ion and the two acetylacetonate-oxygen atoms is close to $90^{\circ}$. The bond lengths of Cr-O between the chromium and the acetylacetonate-oxygen atoms are 1.950(3) and 1.954(2) $\AA$. They are shorter than those between chromium and nitrogen atoms of the macrocycle. The IR spectra of 1, 2 and 3 display bands at 1560 {ν (C=O)}, 1710 {${\nu}_{as}$(OCO)} and 1660 $cm^{-1}$ {${\nu}_{as}$(OCO)} attributed to the acac, ox and mal auxiliary ligands stretching vibrations, respectively.