A selenium-bonded oxorhenium(V) complex: solvothermal synthesis, structural characterization, and electrochemical behavior

Abstract

The solvothermal reaction of [ReOCl 3 (PPh 3 ) 2 ] with 2,2 0 -seleno-bis(4,6-di-tert-butylphenol) (H 2 L 1 ) in ethanol at 95°C resulted in an oxorhenium(V) complex of formulation [ReO(L 1 )(L 2 )] due to the in situ formation of 2-selenochloromethyl-4,6-di-tert-butylphenolate (L 2 ) through the cleavage of one C-Se bond of H 2 L 1 . The mononuclear oxorhenium(V) complex was characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods along with detailed structural analysis by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Electrochemical studies revealed a one-electron equivalent quasi-reversible voltammogram for the ReO(V)/ ReO(VI) redox couple at 1.28 V (versus SCE) with no cathodic response for ReO(V) ? ReO(IV) reduction.