Chemistry of a Ni(II) acetohydroxamic acid complex: formation, reactivity with water, and attempted preparation of zinc and cobalt analogues.

Mononuclear Ni(II), Co(II), and Zn(II) complexes of the bppppa (N,N-bis[(6-phenyl-2-pyridyl)methyl]-N-[(6-pivaloylamido-2-pyridyl)methyl]amine) ligand have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, 1H NMR, UV-vis (Ni(II) and Co(II)) and infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Each complex has the empirical formula [(bppppa)M](ClO4)2 (M = Ni(II), 2; Zn(II), 3; Co(II), 4) and in the solid state exhibits a metal center having a coordination number of five; albeit, the cation of 2 also has a sixth weak interaction involving a perchlorate anion. Treatment of [(bppppa)Ni](ClO4)2 (2) with 1 equiv of acetohydroxamic acid results in the formation of [(bppppa)Ni(HONHC(O)CH3)](ClO4)2 (1), a novel Ni(II) complex having a coordinated neutral acetohydroxamic acid ligand. In 1, one phenyl-appended pyridyl donor of the bppppa chelate ligand is dissociated from the metal center and acts as a hydrogen bond acceptor for the hydroxyl group of the bound acetohydroxamic acid ligand. Treatment of 1 with excess water results in the formation of 2 and free acetohydroxamic acid. We hypothesize that this reaction occurs due to disruption of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction involving the bound acid. In this series of reactions, the bppppa ligand exhibits behavior reminiscent of a type III hemilabile ligand in terms of one phenylpyridyl donor. Treatment of 3 or 4 with acetohydroxamic acid results in no reaction, indicating that the bppppa-ligated Ni(II) derivative 2 exhibits unique coordination chemistry with respect to reaction with acetohydroxamic acid within this series of complexes. We attribute this reactivity to the ability of the bppppa-ligated Ni(II) center to adopt a pseudo-octahedral geometry, whereas the Zn(II) and Co(II) complexes retain five coordinate metal centers.