Rhenium(I) coordinated lumazine and pterin derivatives: structure and spectroelectrochemistry of reversibly reducible (6-ATML)Re(CO)3Cl (6-ATML=6-acetyl-1,3,7-trimethyllumazine)

A number of complexes between substituted lumazines (2,4-dioxo-(1H,3H)pteridines) or pterins (2-amino-4-oxo-(3H)pteridines) and Re(CO)3Cl have been synthesized and characterized electrochemically and spectroscopically. The structure of the (6-ATML)Re(CO)3Cl derivative (6-ATML=6-acetyl-1,3,7-trimethyllumazine) could be determined in [fac-(6-ATML)Re(CO)3Cl]·3C6H6. The rhenium(I) center coordinates in a rather symmetrical fashion through the O4–N5 α-carbonylimino chelate site of 6-ATML; the potentially available acetyl function is not involved in the metal coordination. The acetyl acceptor substituent facilitates the reversible one-electron reduction of this compound to a persistent anion radical complex [(6-ATML)Re(CO)3Cl]radical dot−, which is accompanied by variable low-frequency shifts of the six carbonyl stretching bands and by the appearance of a broad EPR signal.