Novel vanadium(III) complexes with rigid phenylpolycarboxylate ligands: synthesis, structures and application in C-H bond activation

Two novel vanadium(III) complexes: V(dipic)(Hbdc)(H2O)(2) (1) and [V-2(dipic)(2)(H(2)btec)(H2O)(4)]center dot 2H(2)O (2) (H(2)dipic = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, H(2)bdc = 1,3-benzene-dicarboxylic acid, H(4)btec = 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid) are synthesized by the reaction of V-2(SO4)(3), 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid and 1,3-benzene- dicarboxylic acid (for 1) or 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid (for 2) under hydrothermal condition at 120 degrees C for 3 days. They were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis, single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and thermogravimetric analyses (TG). Structural analyses show that the vanadium atoms in the complexes 1 and 2 are both in a pentagonal-bipyramidal coordination environment with the NO6 donor set, and there is intermolecular hydrogen bonding in each complex. Research results found that the complexes exhibited bromination catalytic activity in the single-pot reaction of the conversion of phenol red to bromophenol blue in the mixed solution of H2O-DMF at the constant temperature of 30 +/- 0.5 degrees C with pH = 5.8, and catalytic C-H bond cleavage activity for the peroxidative oxidation (with hydrogen peroxide) of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone (the maximum total turnover number is 395) under the mild conditions.