Estimation of stability constants for metal-ligand complexes containing neutral nitrogen donor atoms with applications to natural organic matter

Linear free energy relationships (LFERs) were developed for estimating 1:1 metal-ligand stability constants (log KML) for small organic molecules containing neutral nitrogen donor atoms. A data set of 44 monodentate and 112 bidentate ligands for six metal ions: Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ was employed to parameterize the LFER equations. Monodentate and bidentate log KML values were adequately described using Irving-Rossotti LFERs previously developed for ligands containing negatively-charged oxygen functional groups. Modifications to the LFER equations were necessary to account for steric hindrances to metal complexation by primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. The resulting LFER equations can be used to estimate log KML values for monodentate and bidentate ligands with neutral nitrogen donor groups where such values do not currently exist in the literature. Comparison of these results to our previous work with negatively-charged oxygen donor atoms reveals that neutral nitrogen functional groups are weaker than their oxygen counterparts for metal ions classified as “hard” on the basis of Hard-Soft Acid-Base (HSAB) theory. For “soft” metals, the opposite is true. These LFERs can be used to incorporate nitrogen functional groups in models for metal ion binding to natural organic matter (NOM).