Copper(II) (3d9, S = 1/2) complexes are stable and widely investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In contrast, isoelectronic nickel(I) is much less common and much less investigated. Nickel(I), however, is of biological interest as the active site of methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) contains a tetraaza macrocyclic ligand, F430, which coordinates NiI in its active form, MCRred1. As result, the redox behavior and spectroscopy of tetraaza macrocyclic complexes of nickel is of importance in biomimetic chemistry. Such efforts are complicated by the difficulty in generating NiI from their stable, NiII, precursors. Reduction of NiII macrocyclic complexes can afford NiI in certain cases, but in many other cases can lead instead to reduction of the macrocycle to generate an organic radical anion. Previous studies on the formation of tetraaza macrocyclic complexes of NiI are discussed in terms of the competition between metal-centered and ligand-centered reduction. EPR results are particularly important in making the distinction between these two reduction processes, as formation of NiI gives characteristic EPR spectra similar to those for CuII, while ligand-centered reduction gives narrow EPR spectra at g = 2.00, typical of organic radicals. Even if metal-centered reduction occurs, the geometry of the resulting NiI macrocyclic complex is highly variable and, as a result, the EPR spectral appearance is highly variable. In this case, the comparison is between the extremes of spectra typical for tetragonally distorted complexes (<img src="/img/revistas/jbchs/v21n7/a02img11.gif" align=absmiddle> ground state, which includes tetragonally distorted octahedral, square pyramidal and square planar geometries) and those for trigonal bipyramidal complexes (<img src="/img/revistas/jbchs/v21n7/a02img12.gif" align=absmiddle> ground state). Previous work on CuII was related to the situation for NiI. The different types of EPR spectra for such systems are specifically discussed using previously unpublished examples of several tetraaza macrocyclic complexes of nickel, including F430 and MCR itself.
nickel; coordination chemistry; bioinorganic chemistry; EPR; redox chemistry
