EPR and electrochemical study of copper complexes with phenanthrolines and cinnamate ligands

Solid state and solution EPR and electrochemical studies have been carried out on a series of complexesof copper(H) with differently substituted phenanthrolines and cinnamate Iigands. Spectra were recordedon binary complexes with cinnamate ligand and on a series of ternary complexes with the same anionand 1,10-o-phenanthroline, 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-o-phenanthroline or 4,7-dimethyl-1,10-o-phenanthrolineadditional ligands, respectively. The electrochemistry of the same copper complexes was studied inN,N-dimethylformamide solvent. The results of both EPR and electrochemical experiments can becorrelated with electronic and steric effects attributable to the methyl substituents on the phenanthrolineligand.