A series of 2-iminopyrrole ligand precursors with increasing bulkiness [HNC
4H
3C(R)=N-2,6-R'
2C
6H
3] (R = R' =H,
1a; R = Me, R'= H,
1b; R = H, R' = Me,
1c; R = R' = Me,
1d; R = H, R' =
iPr,
1e; R = Me, R' =
iPr,
1f) were synthesized and deprotonated with NaH to give the corresponding iminopyrrolyl sodium salts
2a-f. A setof homoleptic bis-ligand Co(II) complexes of the type [Co(
2N,
N'-NC
4H
3C(R)=N-2,6-R'
2C
6H
3)
2] (R = R'= H,
3a;R = Me, R'= H,
3b; R = H, R' = Me,
3c; R = R' = Me,
3d; R = H, R' =
iPr,
3e; R = Me, R' =
iPr,
3f) wasprepared by reaction of CoCl
2 with the corresponding iminopyrrolyl sodium salts
2a-f. The new complexes werecharacterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, in powder and in solution, UV/vis/NIR,and, in some cases, X-ray crystallography. According to X-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements, the Cocomplexes
3a-e proved to be tetrahedral, which is the preferred geometry for Co(II) compounds. However, asquare planar geometry is observed in the case of
3f, as determined by several characterization techniques. In thiscase, DFT calculations suggest the square planar geometry is slightly more stable than the tetrahedral one probablydue to a combination of steric and electronic reasons.