Yonsei Advanced Science Institute

A new optically active ONNO-type tetradentate ligand, ethylenediamine-N,N′- di-S-isobutylacetate (SS-eniba), has been synthesized. During the preparation of diaqua cobalt(III) complexes of SS-eniba, [Co(SS-eniba)(H₂O)₂]⁺, the title ligand has coordinated stereospecifically to the cobalt(III) ion to give three isomers, Δ-s-cis, Δ-uns-cis and Λ-uns-cis, which have been isolated and characterized via electronic absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and ¹H NMR spectroscopy, along with elemental analysis data. The preparation of Δ-s-cis-[Co(SS-eniba)Cl₂]+ and Δ-s-cis-[Co(SS-eniba)CO₃]⁺ are also reported.