Multimetallic complexes supported by ligands with Pyridine6-X3 donor sets

The biochem. processing of a wide variety of gasses including, H_2, N_2, CO_2, CO and NO_x requires complex machinery. Anaerobic metalloenzymes are highly specialized in such transformations, and often employ multi-metal cooperativity. A bio-inspired approach to tackle energy related problems involving CO_2 and N_2, for instance, is appealing. However controlling the assembly of multiple metals into a single organized framework remains a challenge. Recently we demonstrated that a multidentate ligands can support clusters that mimic the structural topol. of the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) in photosystem II (PSII).[2] This ligand framework consisting of a 1, 3,5-triarylbenzene core decorated with dipyridyl-alc. moieties supports a large variety of metal clusters.] Towards expanding the scope of our previously prepd. clusters, we utilized N/S donors or all N-type donors in new ligand designs. The coordination modes with first-row transition metals and the reactivity of these multimetallic complexes will be discussed.