The reaction products and intermediates of the three CO-releasing manganese(i) coordination compounds [Mn(tpm)(CO)], [Mn(bpza)(CO)] and [Mn(tpa)(CO)] were analysed by combining IR-spectroscopy, electrochemical measurements and single-crystal XRD. The intermediate formation of manganese(i) biscarbonyl compounds and the rather facile oxidation of these species were identified as key reaction steps that accompany CO liberation. For the use of [Mn(CO)] complexes as light-triggered CO sources, the results indicate that in this case photo- and redox-chemistry seem to be strongly coupled which could be important and potentially even useful in the pharmacological context. Additionally, one has to be aware of the fact that [Mn(κ-L)(solv)] complexes, the primary reaction products after CO substitution, are able to bind to proteins, which was demonstrated using bovine serum albumin as a model. And finally it could be shown that the CO-release reactions can be used as a new synthetic route to prepare multinuclear μ-oxido-bridged manganese complexes: the mixed-valence compound [Mn(μ-O)(tpa)] could be prepared in a single step from [Mn(tpa)(CO)]via photo- or electrochemically induced CO substitution.

Details of the reaction sequence used for the fluorimetric detection of phosphates by disassembly of transition metal Schiff base complexes were investigated for [FeIII(salen)(H2O)]+, [ZnII(salen)], [MnII(salen)(H2O)2], and [MnIII(salen)(H2O)]+. The reactivity of these compounds towards phosphorus oxoanions of differing charge, number of donor atoms and steric hindrance was detected by UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy in both aprotic organic and aqueous media. Selectivity of [FeIII(salen)(H2O)]+ towards pyrophosphate over all other tested phosphorus‐containing analytes was strongly supported. [ZnII(salen)] showed a faster reactivity but was much less selective. In contrast, [MnIII(salen)(H2O)]+ proved to be more stable than the iron complex but generally showed little reactivity towards phosphorus oxoanions. The influence of the charge of the central atom was investigated using the MnII analogue [MnII(salen)(H2O)2]. As expected, the reduced charge resulted in a reactivity comparable to the ZnII complex in organic solution but lead to hydrolysis of the complex in water. Finally, the reaction products of [FeIII(salen)(H2O)]+ with phosphates were characterized by IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, providing further insights into the reaction mechanism of the disassembly process.