Designing new Ligands: Catalytic Applications of Pyridine-Containing Macrocyclic Complexes

The introduction of a pyridine moiety into the skeleton of a polyazamacrocyclic ligand affects both the thermodynamic properties and the coordination kinetics of the resulting metal complexes. These features have engender a great interest in the scientific community and the applications of pyridine-containing macrocyclic ligands ranges from biology to supramolecular chemistry, encompassing MRI, molecular recognitions, materials and catalysis. In this lecture, I will provide a perspective on the catalytic applications of metal complexes of pyridine-containing macrocyclic ligands (Pc-L’s) which have been studied in our group (Figure 1), with a focus interest on the structural features relevant to catalysis.1 The increased conformational rigidity imposed by the pyridine ring allowed for the isolation and characterization of metal complexes which show a rich coordination chemistry.2 The very different conformations accessible upon coordination and the easy tuneable synthesis of the macrocyclic ligands have been exploited in stereoselective syntheses.3 References 1 B. Castano, S. Guidone, E. Gallo, F. Ragaini, N. Casati, P. Macchi, M. Sisti, A. Caselli, Dalton Trans. 2013, 42, 2451. 2 a) G. Tseberlidis, M. Dell'Acqua, D. Valcarenghi, E. Gallo, E. Rossi, G. Abbiati, A. Caselli, RSC Adv. 2016, 6, 97404; b) T. Pedrazzini, P. Pirovano, M. Dell'Acqua, F. Ragaini, P. Illiano, P. Macchi, G. Abbiati, A. Caselli, Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2015, 2015, 5089. 3 a) M. Dell’Acqua, B. Castano, C. Cecchini, T. Pedrazzini, V. Pirovano, E. Rossi, A. Caselli, G. Abbiati, J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 3494; b) M. Trose, M. Dell’Acqua, T. Pedrazzini, V. Pirovano, E. Gallo, E. Rossi, A. Caselli, G. Abbiati, J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 7311; c) B. Castano, E. Gallo, D. J. Cole-Hamilton, V. Dal Santo, R. Psaro, A. Caselli, Green Chem. 2014, 16, 3202.