Structural and Electrochemical Studies of Co(III) Cage Amine Complexes with Pendent Thienylmethylamino Groups

Various 2- and 3-thienylmethylamino-substituted cobalt(III) cage amine complexes, prepared with the objective of obtaining cage-functionalized polythienyls, have been found to be resistant to oxidative polymerization by both electrochemical and chemical procedures. X-ray structure determinations indicate that there is negligible perturbation of the physical dimensions of the thiophene moieties by the cage substituents and thus that the resistance to polymerization must be associated with the high positive charge carried by these substituents.