2-Mercaptobenzoxazole pentacyanoferrate(II/III) complexes: UV-Visible, Mössbauer, electron paramagnetic resonance, electrochemistry and molecular modeling

Abstract

2-Mercaptobenzoxazole pentacyanoferrate(II/III) complexes, [FeII/III(CN)5(bzoxs)]3-/2- , were prepared in MeOH/H2O 75:25% solutions and characterized by spectroscopic UV-Vis, Mössbauer, electron paramagnetic resonance (epr) and electrochemical-cyclic voltammetry- techniques. UV-Vis and epr spectra along with the electrochemical behavior suggested the coordination of the multi-functional N,S,O- donor ligand, bzoxs, to iron(III) through the sulfur atom. The crystal field parameters, DqL and Dt, calculated for the iron(II) complex, in addition to the reversible redox process FeIII-bzoxs + e- -> FeII-bzoxs also pointed to coordination via the sulfur atom. The results were compared with the chemical properties of pentacyanoferrate complexes containing other monodentate N-, S- and O-donor ligands. Ab initio calculations revealed the composition of the frontier orbitals of bzoxs and are in agreement with the mode of coordination proposed from the experimental data.

Keywords

• 2-mercaptobenzoxazole
• pentacyanoferrate
• spectroscopy
• crystal field parameters
• ab initio calculations
• electrochemistry