Cu2+ Coordination Properties of a 2-Pyridine Heptaamine Tripod: Characterization and Binding Mechanism

The synthesis, protonation, and Cu(2+) coordination chemistry of a tripodal heptaamine ligand (L(1)) functionalized with 2-pyridine fragments at the ends of its three branches are reported. L(1) presents six relatively high protonation constants followed by much more reduced constant that as indicated by the UV-vis and NMR data, occur on the pyridine fragments. p[H]-metric, ESI/MS(+), EPR and UV-vis data show that L(1) is able to form mono-, di-, and trinuclear Cu(2+) complexes. Slippage movements and molecular reorganizations have been observed to occur as a function of p[H] in the 1:1 Cu(2+) complexes. The kinetic studies showed that the complex formation is fast and proceeds through a di…