Equilibrium studies have been performed to determine the Brønsted acidity of [(C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 )]‚ H 2 O, the aqua species that exists in acetonitrile solutions of B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 in the presence of water. NMR spectroscopic analysis of the deprotonation of [(C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 )]‚H 2 O with 2,6-Bu t 2 C 5 H 3 N in acetonitrile allows a pK value of 8.6 to be determined for the equilibrium [(C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 )]‚H 2 O a [(C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH)] -+ [H 3 O] + . On the basis of a calculated value for the hydrogen bond interaction in [(C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 )]‚H 2 O, the pK a for (C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 ) is estimated to be 8.4 in acetonitrile. Such a value indicates that (C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 ) must be regarded as a strong acid, with a strength comparable to that of HCl in acetonitrile. Dynamic NMR spectroscopic studies indicate that the aqua and acetonitrile ligands in (C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(OH 2 ) and (C 6 F 5 ) 3 B(NCMe) are labile, with dissociation of H 2 O being substantially more facile than that of MeCN, by a factor of ca. 200 in rate constant at 300 K. Ab initio calculations were performed in the gas phase and with a dielectric solvent model to determine the strength of B-L bonds (L ) H 2 O, ROH, MeCN) and hydrogen bonds involving B-OH 2 and B-O(H)R derivatives.

The tris(3-tert-butyl-5-methylpyrazolyl)hydroborato zinc hydroxide complex [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]ZnOH is protonated by (C(6)F(5))(3)B(OH(2)) to yield the aqua derivative [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Zn(OH(2))][HOB(C(6)F(5))(3)], which has been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction, thereby demonstrating that protonation results in a lengthening of the Zn-O bond by ca. 0.1 A. The protonation is reversible, and treatment of [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Zn(OH(2))](+) with Et(3)N regenerates [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]ZnOH. Consistent with the notion that the catalytic hydration of CO(2) by carbonic anhydrase requires deprotonation of the coordinated water molecule, [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Zn(OH(2))](+) is inert towards CO(2), whereas [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]ZnOH is in rapid equilibrium with the bicarbonate complex [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]ZnOC(O)OH under comparable conditions. The cobalt hydroxide complex [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]CoOH is likewise protonated by (C(6)F(5))(3)B(OH(2)) to yield the aqua derivative [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Co(OH(2))][HOB(C(6)F(5))(3)], which is isostructural with the zinc complex. The aqua complexes [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]M(OH(2))][HOB(C(6)F(5))(3)] (M = Zn, Co) exhibit a hydrogen bonding interaction between the metal aqua and boron hydroxide moieties. This hydrogen bonding interaction may be viewed as analogous to that between the aqua ligand and Thr-199 at the active site of carbonic anhydrase. In addition to the structural similarities between the zinc and cobalt complexes, [Tp(Bu)t(,Me)ZnOH] and [Tp(Bu)()t(,Me)]CoOH, and between [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Zn(OH(2))](+) and [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Co(OH(2))](+), DFT (B3LYP) calculations demonstrate that the pK(a) value of [[Tp]Zn(OH(2))](+) is similar to that of [[Tp]Co(OH(2))](+). These similarities are in accord with the observation that Co(II) is a successful substitute for Zn(II) in carbonic anhydrase. The cobalt hydroxide [Tp(Bu)()t(,Me)]CoOH reacts with CO(2) to give the bridging carbonate complex [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Co](2)(mu-eta(1),eta(2)-CO(3)). The coordination mode of the carbonate ligand in this complex, which is bidentate to one cobalt center and unidentate to the other, is in contrast to that in the zinc counterpart [[Tp(Bu)t(,Me)]Zn](2)(mu-eta(1),eta(1)-CO(3)), which bridges in a unidentate manner to both zinc centers. This difference in coordination modes concurs with the suggestion that a possible reason for the lower activity of Co(II)-carbonic anhydrase is associated with enhanced bidentate coordination of bicarbonate inhibiting its displacement.

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The factors that influence the formation of a tetrahedral alkoxide complex related to a critical intermediate of the catalytic cycle of liver alcohol dehydrogenase have been probed by a combined experimental and computational investigation of the reactions of the tris(pyrazolyl)hydroborato zinc hydroxide complexes [Tp RR′ ]ZnOH with alcohols. The study demonstrates that zinc alkoxide formation is electronically favored by incorporation of electron-withdrawing substituents in the alcohol but is sterically disfavored for bulky alkoxides. A computational analysis indicates that these trends are a result of homolytic Zn-OR and Zn-OAr BDEs being more sensitive to the nature of R and Ar than are the corresponding H-OR and H-OAr BDEs. Thus, electron-withdrawing substituents increase Zn-OAr bond energies to a greater extent than H-OAr bond energies, while bulky substituents decrease Zn-OR bond energies to a greater extent than H-OR bond energies. With the exception of derivatives of acidic alcohols (e.g., nitrophenol), the zinc alkoxide complexes [Tp RR′ ]-ZnOR are very unstable toward hydrolysis. This hydrolytic instability of simple zinc alkoxide complexes suggests that the active site environment of LADH plays an important role in stabilizing the alkoxide intermediate, possibly via hydrogen-bonding interactions.

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