Synthetic Bioinorganic Chemistry: Scorpionates Turn 50

Abstract

The coordination chemistry of scorpionates, anionic tripodal boroncentered ligands that readily bind to virtually all main group, transition, and f-block metals, has had a profound effect in the development of synthetic bioinorganic chemistry during the past 50 years. Highlighted in this article are some of the most meaningful results published in the area, primarily in the preparation of structural and functional model compounds for the active sites in metalloproteins and metalloenzymes, a theme that encompasses topics as diverse as nitrogen fixation and heavy metal poisoning. It has also been 50 years since the genesis of Structure and Bonding, so let this account also be a celebration of the many contributions that the staunch serial has had on the entire field of inorganic chemistry during the past half century.

Elusive Scorpionates: C3-Symmetric, Formally Dianionic, Facially Tridentate Ligands

“…Scorpionate ligands, or Trofimenko’s tris­(pyrazolyl)­borates, are among the most pervasive and versatile ligands used in contemporary coordination and bioinorganic chemistry . Since their first introduction in 1966, the scorpionate ligands have evolved widely to contain either hard or soft donors connected with a variety of linkers characteristic of having distinct symmetries and formally anionic charges. Figure illustrates conceptually homoscorpionates featuring different charges.…”

Lanthanide Complexes with Tripodal Ligands

“…Moreover, the latter can be easily varied by using the methods of synthetic organic chemistry. Therefore, it is not surprising that tripodal ligands are widely used in various fields of applied coordination chemistry such as catalysis [1][2][3][4][5][6], chemo sensing [7][8][9], photo- [10][11][12] and electroluminescence [11,13,14], molecular gears and motors production [15,16], biomedical applications [17][18][19][20] and molecular magnetism [12,[21][22][23][24].…”

The Tripodal Ligand’s 4f Complexes: Use in Molecular Magnetism

“…Moreover, the latter can be easily adjusted using the methods of synthetic organic chemistry. Therefore, it is not surprising that tripodal ligands are widely used in various fields of applied coordination chemistry, such as catalysis [1][2][3][4][5][6]; chemo sensing [7][8][9]; photo- [10][11][12] and electroluminescence [11,13,14]; molecular gears and motors construction [15,16]; biomedical applications [17][18][19][20]; and molecular magnetism [12,[21][22][23][24].…”