Issue 20, 2022

Small compound – big colors: synthesis and structural investigation of brightly colored alkaline earth metal 1,3-dimethylviolurates

Abstract

A series of brightly colored alkaline earth metal 1,3-dimethylviolurates M(Me2Vio)2 have been prepared and fully characterized. The title compounds AE(Me2Vio)2·nH2O (AE = Mg, n = 6 (3); AE = Ca, n = 8 (4), AE = Sr, n = 6 (5); AE = Ba, n = 4 (6)) were obtained by neutralizing 1,3-dimethylvioluric acid monohydrate (=H(Me2Vio)·H2O; 2) with 0.5 equiv. of the corresponding metal dihydroxides AE(OH)2. The hair-like appearance of the Sr derivative 5 prevented the growth of single-crystals. This problem could be solved by crystallizing the crown ether derivative Sr(Me2Vio)2(18-crown-6) (5a). The isolated salts exhibit intense colors ranging from red to purple. Various attempts to prepare the beryllium derivative Be(Me2Vio)2 failed. Instead, work-up of the reaction mixtures provided pink crystals of a new modification of 2 formulated as [H3O][Me2Vio] (2b) as shown by an X-ray diffraction study. An unexpected oxidation reaction of the barium salt Ba(Me2Vio)2 led to formation of the novel mixed-anion salt Ba(Me2Vio)(Me2NO2Barb)·2H2O (8, Me2NO2Barb = 1,3-dimethyl-5-nitrobarbiturate anion). Compound 8 could also be synthesized deliberately by treatment of Ba(OH)2 with a 1 : 1 mixture of 2 and 1,3-dimethyl-5-nitrobarbituric acid (7, =H(Me2NO2Barb)·H2O). All new compounds were fully characterized by their IR, Raman, NMR (1H, 13C{1H}) and UV-vis spectra as well as elemental analyses. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the solid-state structures of compounds 3, 4, 5a and 6 are governed by the typical coordination behavior of the alkaline-earth metals, i.e. increasing coordination numbers and a decreasing degree of hydration when going from Mg to Ba. The dimensions of the structures range from hydrogen-bonded ions (3) over monomeric, neutral complex molecules (4, 5a), to polymeric networks (6). The successful isolation of the mixed-anion barium salt 8 adds a new facet to the coordination chemistry of violurate and related ligands.

Graphical abstract: Small compound – big colors: synthesis and structural investigation of brightly colored alkaline earth metal 1,3-dimethylviolurates

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Feb 2022
Accepted
03 May 2022
First published
04 May 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Dalton Trans., 2022,51, 7975-7985

Small compound – big colors: synthesis and structural investigation of brightly colored alkaline earth metal 1,3-dimethylviolurates

V. Lorenz, P. Liebing, M. Müller, L. Hilfert, M. Feneberg, E. Kluth, M. Kühling, M. R. Buchner, R. Goldhahn and F. T. Edelmann, Dalton Trans., 2022, 51, 7975 DOI: 10.1039/D2DT00606E

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