The substitution of heavier, more metallic atoms into
classical
organic ligand frameworks provides an important strategy for tuning
ligand properties, such as ligand bite and donor character, and is
the basis for the emerging area of main-group supramolecular chemistry.
In this paper, we explore two new ligands [E(2-Me-8-qy)3] [E = Sb (1), Bi (2); qy = quinolyl],
allowing a fundamental comparison of their coordination behavior with
classical tris(2-pyridyl) ligands of the type [E′(2-py)3] (E = a range of bridgehead atoms and groups, py = pyridyl).
A range of new coordination modes to Cu+, Ag+, and Au+ is seen for 1 and 2, in the absence of steric constraints at the bridgehead and with
their more remote N-donor atoms. A particular feature is the adaptive
nature of these new ligands, with the ability to adjust coordination
mode in response to the hard–soft character of coordinated
metal ions, influenced also by the character of the bridgehead atom
(Sb or Bi). These features can be seen in a comparison between [Cu2{Sb(2-Me-8-qy)3}2](PF6)2 (1·CuPF6) and [Cu{Bi(2-Me-8-qy)3}](PF6) (2·CuPF6),
the first containing a dimeric cation in which 1 adopts
an unprecedented intramolecular N,N,Sb-coordination mode while in the second, 2 adopts
an unusual N,N,(π-)C coordination mode. In contrast, the previously
reported analogous ligands [E(6-Me-2-py)3] (E = Sb, Bi;
2-py = 2-pyridyl) show a tris-chelating mode in their
complexes with CuPF6, which is typical for the extensive tris(2-pyridyl) family with a range of metals. The greater
polarity of the Bi–C bond in 2 results in ligand
transfer reactions with Au(I). Although this reactivity is not in
itself unusual, the characterization of several products by single-crystal
X-ray diffraction provides snapshots of the ligand transfer reaction
involved, with one of the products (the bimetallic complex [(BiCl){ClAu2(2-Me-8-qy)3}] (8)) containing a Au2Bi core in which the shortest Au → Bi donor–acceptor
bond to date is observed.