Outer-sphere interaction of (S)-asparagine and (S)-glutamine with [Co(NH3)6]3+ ion and its possible role in ligand substitution

Abstract

Optical activity of the achiral cation [Co(NH3)6]3+ is induced both by (S)-AsnONa and (S)-GlnONa, as shown by a negative Cotton effect in the 1A1g → 1T1g transition region. An outer-sphere interaction by three-point attachment of the amides can explain the fact that substitution reaction of [Co(NH3)6]3+ with the mentioned amides in an alkaline medium is unusually slow as compared with other amino acids.