Spectroscopic and Computational Studies of an End-on Bound Superoxo-Cu(II) Complex: Geometric and Electronic Factors That Determine the Ground State

A variety of techniques including absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), variable-temperature, variable-field MCD (VTVH-MCD), and resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopies are combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the electronic structure of the end-on (η1) bound superoxo-Cu(II) complex [TMG3trenCuO2]+ (where TMG3tren is 1,1,1-tris[2-[N2-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidino)]ethyl]amine). The spectral features of [TMG3trenCuO2]+ are assigned, including the first definitive assignment of a superoxo intraligand transition in a metal-superoxo complex, and a detailed description of end-on superoxo-Cu(II) bonding is developed. The lack of overlap between the two magnetic orbitals of [TMG3trenCuO2]+ eliminates antiferromagnetic coupling between the copper(II) and the superoxide, while the significant superoxo π*σ character of the copper dz2 orbital leads to its ferromagnetically coupled, triplet, ground state.