Volume 135, Issue 51 e202313744
Forschungsartikel

Uncovering a CF3 Effect on X-ray Absorption Energies of [Cu(CF3)4] and Related Copper Compounds by Using Resonant Diffraction Anomalous Fine Structure (DAFS) Measurements**

Pinar Alayoglu

Pinar Alayoglu

Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

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Tieyan Chang

Tieyan Chang

NSF's ChemMatCARS, University of Chicago, Argonne, IL 60439 USA

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Connly Yan

Connly Yan

Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

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Yu-Sheng Chen

Yu-Sheng Chen

NSF's ChemMatCARS, University of Chicago, Argonne, IL 60439 USA

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Neal P. Mankad

Corresponding Author

Neal P. Mankad

Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

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First published: 08 November 2023
Citations: 2
**

A previous version of this manuscript has been deposited on a preprint server (https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-klcfp).

Abstract

Understanding the electronic structures of high-valent metal complexes aids the advancement of metal-catalyzed cross coupling methodologies. A prototypical complex with formally high valency is [Cu(CF3)4] (1), which has a formal Cu(III) oxidation state but whose physical analysis has led some to a Cu(I) assignment in an inverted ligand field model. Recent examinations of 1 by X-ray spectroscopies have led previous authors to contradictory conclusions, motivating the re-examination of its X-ray absorption profile here by a complementary method, resonant diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS). From analysis of DAFS measurements for a series of seven mononuclear Cu complexes including 1, here it is shown that there is a systematic trifluoromethyl effect on X-ray absorption that blue shifts the resonant Cu K-edge energy by 2–3 eV per CF3, completely accounting for observed changes in DAFS profiles between formally Cu(III) complexes like 1 and formally Cu(I) complexes like (Ph3P)3CuCF3 (3). Thus, in agreement with the inverted ligand field model, the data presented herein imply that 1 is best described as containing a Cu(I) ion with dn count approaching 10.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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