Transition metal coordination chemistry of N,N-Bis(2-{pyrid-2-ylethyl})hydroxylamine

Although directly relevant to metal mediated biological nitrification as well as the coordination chemistry of peroxide, the metal complexes of hydroxylamines and their functionalized variants remain largely unexplored. The chelating hydroxylamine ligand N, N-bis(2-{pyrid-2-ylethyl}) hydroxylamine can be readily generated via a solvent free reaction in high purity; however, the ligand is prone to decomposition which can hamper metal reaction. N,N-bis(2-{pyrid-2-ylethyl})hydroxylamine forms stable complexes, with chromium(III), manganese(II), nickel(II), and cadmium(II) ions, coordinating in a side-on mode in the case of chromium and via the nitrogen in the case of the latter three metal ions. The hydroxylamine ligand can also be reduced to form N,N-bis(2-{pyrid-2-ylethyl})amine upon exposure to a stoichiometric amount of the metal salts cobalt(II) nitrate, vanadium(III) chloride, and iron(II) chloride. In the reaction with cobalt nitrate, the reduced ligand then chelates to the metal to form [N,N-bis(2-{pyrid-2-ylethyl})amine]dinitrocobalt(II). Upon reaction with vanadium(III) chloride and iron(III) chloride, the reduced ligand is isolated as the protonated free base, resulting from a metal-mediated decomposition reaction.