Abstract

Tricarbonylmanganese(I) and -rhenium(I) complexes of the imidazolylphosphane ligands tris(imidazol-2-yl)phosphane (2-TIPH), tris(N-methylimidazol-2-yl)phosphane (2-TIPNMe), and tris[2-isopropylimidazol-4(5)-yl]phosphane (4-TIPiPr) as well as the phosphane oxide (4-TIPOiPr) and sulfide (4-TIPSiPr) ligands were prepared. These tris(imidazolyl) ligands act as N,N,N-tripodal chelating ligands. The solid-state structures of the manganese complexes [(2-TIPNMe)Mn(CO)3]OTf and [(4-TIPSiPr)Mn(CO)3]OTf as well as the rhenium compound [(4-TIPOiPr)Re(CO)3]OTf were determined by X-ray diffraction. The potential of these complexes as photoactivatable CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) was studied with the UV/Vis spectroscopy-based myoglobin assay. Within the series of compounds prepared, the substitution pattern of the imidazolyl groups was found to significantly influence the CO-release efficiency and stoichiometry. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA,69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)