Electrochemical investigations on pentagonal bipyramidal complexes of manganese(II), iron(II), and cobalt(II) with a heptadentate Schiff-base ligand in non-aqueous solvents

The voltammetric properties of the complexes formed by manganese(II), iron(II), and cobalt(II) ions with a heptadentate Schiff-base ligand have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry at mercury and platinum electrodes in acetonitrile and dimethyl sulfoxide solvents.All the species undergo a single one-electron oxidation process leading to the corresponding stable metal(III) complexes which have been isolated and characterized.The cathodic behaviour of manganese(II) and iron(II) derivatives is very similar, in that the less cathodic process occurs at nearly equal potential values, indicating that the ligand moiety is reduced rather than the metal centre. The one-electron reduction process of the cobalt(II) complex leads to the corresponding cobalt(I) derivative, stable in the electrolysis solution.