CASPT2 study of inverse sandwich-type dinuclear 3d transition metal complexes of ethylene and dinitrogen molecules: similarities and differences in geometry, electronic structure, and spin multiplicity

The spin multiplicities and coordination structures of inverse sandwich-type complexes (ISTCs) of ethylene and dinitrogen molecules with 3d transition metal elements (Sc to Ni), (μ-C2H4)[M(AIP)]2 and (μ-N2)[M(AIP)]2 (AIPH = (Z)-1-amino-3-iminoprop-1-ene; M = Sc to Ni) were investigated by the CASPT2 method. In both ethylene and dinitrogen ISTCs of the early 3d transition metals (Sc to Cr), sandwiched ethylene and dinitrogen ligands coordinate with two metal atoms in an η2-side-on form and their ground states have an open-shell singlet spin multiplicity. The η1-end-on coordination structure of dinitrogen ISTCs is considerably less stable than the η2-side-on form in these metals. For the late 3d transition metals (Mn to Ni), ethylene and dinitrogen ISTCs exhibit interesting similarities and differences in spin multiplicity and structure as follows: in ethylene ISTCs of Mn to Ni, the ground state has an open-shell singlet spin multiplicity like those of the ISTCs of early transition metals. However, the ethylene ligand is considerably distorted, in which the ethylene carbon atoms have a tetrahedral-like structure similar to sp3 carbon and each of them coordinates with one metal in a μ-η1:η1 structure. These geometrical features are completely different from those of ISTCs of the early transition metals. In dinitrogen ISTCs of Mn to Ni, on the other hand, the ground state has a high spin multiplicity from nonet (Mn) to triplet (Ni). The η2-side-on coordination structure of the dinitrogen ligand is as stable as the η1-end-on form in the Mn complex but the η1-end-on structure is more stable than the η2-side-on form in the Fe to Ni complexes. All these interesting similarities and differences between ethylene and dinitrogen ISTCs and between the early and late transition metal elements arise from the occupation of several important molecular orbitals.