C hlorinated A rom atics, C opper C om pounds, C rystal Structure, Electrochem istry, H eterocycles Perchlorinated derivatives o f the com m on a -d iim in e chelate ligands 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline w ere synthesized and tested fo r their coordination behavior tow ards metal ions. O ctachloro-l.lO -ph en an th ro lin e (ocp) was o b tained via chlorination with P C I5 under pressure (300°C, 18 h). It fails to form stable com plexes w ith e.g. Fe2+, M n2+, Ru2+, N i2+, Z n 2+ or Cd~+, but yields com plex cations [M (ocp)2]+ w ith M = Cu, Ag. The crystal structure an aly sis o f the red tetrafluoroborate o f the copper(I) com plex cation reveals a distorted tetrahedral coordination at the metal w ith a slight tendency tow ards the trigonal-pyram idal arrangem ent; two essentially planar ligands w ith sm all bite angles intersect at alm ost right angle. Relative to conventional bis( 1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I) com plexes with sim ilar structures, [C u(ocp)2]+ has oxidation and reduction potentials shifted positively by about 1 V which leaves the energy o f the m ain M LC T absorption features little changed. A ttem pts to synthesize R u C h (o c p )2 in D M F produced as substituted product a sym m etrical b is(dim ethylam ino)-hexachloro-l,10-phenanthroline w hich can be oxidized electrochem ically in tw o steps. In contrast to ocp, octachloro-2,2'-bipyridine (ocb) show ed no detectable com plexation with C u+ and a very neg ative reduction potential, most probably due to its inability to exhibit a low -energy coplanar conform ation.Transition metal complexes with perhalogenated ligands have been investigated as potential oxida tion catalysts [1], The reason is the lower activation of C-Hal vs. C-H bonds in highly oxidized interme diates towards dissociation, Hal+ ions being much poorer leaving groups than H+. Examples include especially macrocyclic ligands such as the por phyrins [1], Small perchlorinated aromatic ligands were also used to investigate unusual and normally very reactive oxidation states such as Pt(III) [2].Perhalogenated derivatives of the standard adiimine chelate ligands 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen) have not yet been systematically studied although the parent com pounds and their organosubstituted derivatives were employed as ligands in arrangements for oxidation catalysis [3]. In particular, (1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I) complexes with their low-lying metal(d)-to-ligand(7r*) charge transfer * R eprint requests to Prof. Dr. W. Kaim.(MLCT) excited states have received wide attention because of their long-standing application in ana lytical chemistry [4] and their more recent uses as "chemical nucleases" in site-specific DNA cleavage [51 and as photoactivated catalysts [6]. The struc tures of such molecules are also of relevance for supramolecular chemistry, e.g. for the synthesis of catenates and knotted molecules [7], for the under standing of the coordination and functioning of cop per centers in proteins [8] and for potential medical applications [9],...