Phosphine ligands as protecting groups for 3d complexes in oxidation by O2

A series of heteroleptic mixed phosphine/alkoxide 3d complexes was designed to evaluate PPh3 as a protecting group, stabilizing the metal coordination sphere prior to O2 exposure, but oxidatively dissociating in the presence of O2 to allow facile O2 reduction by low coordinate metal centers. Complexes of the form [(Ph3P)2M(OC4F9)2] (M = Fe (1), Co (2), Ni (3), Zn (4)) and [(Ph3P)2M(pinF)] (M = Co (8), Ni (9), Zn (10) were prepared, along with...