In-channel indirect amperometric detection of heavy metal ions for electrophoresis on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchip

In-channel indirect amperometric detection mode for microchip capillary electrophoresis with positive separation electric field is successfully applied to some heavy metal ions. The influences of separation voltage, detection potential, the concentration and pH value of running buffer on the response of the detector have been investigated. An optimized condition of 1200 V separation voltage, −0.1 V detection potential, 20 mM (pH 4.46) running buffer of 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) + l-histidine (l-His) was selected. The results clearly showed that Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cu²⁺ were efficiently separated within 80 s in a 3.7 cm long native separation PDMS/PDMS channel and successfully detected at a single carbon fibre electrode. The theoretical plate numbers of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cu²⁺ were 1.2 × 10⁵, 2.5 × 10⁵, and 1.9 × 10⁵ m⁻¹, respectively. The detection limits for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cu²⁺ were 1.3, 3.3 and 7.4 μM (S/N = 3).     

Heavy metal-induced inhibition of Aspergillus niger nitrate reductase: applications for rapid contaminant detection in aqueous samples

Enzyme inhibition assays have the potential to rapidly screen and identify heavy metals in environmental samples. Inhibition of nitrate reductase (NR) was examined as a method for detecting toxic metals. The activity of NR (EC 1.6.6.2) from Aspergillus niger was assayed as a function of metal concentration in the presence of Cd²⁺, Cr³⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺. NR exhibited sensitivity to these metals at concentrations below 10 μM. Various buffers were screened for their ability to protect NR activity from metal inhibition, and 3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid (MOPS) was selected as the buffering system for the NR assays as it exhibited the least interference with metal inhibition, thus providing increased assay sensitivity. The hypothesis that chelating agents could prevent the inhibition of NR activity by metal ions was also tested. Results indicated that 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) could protect NR activity from inhibition by Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ at concentrations below 100 μM, but that the EDTA had no effect on NR inhibition by Cr⁶⁺. An amount of 10 mM nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) prevented NR inhibition by Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺ at metal concentrations below 100 μM. However, 10 mM NTA was unable to protect the enzyme from inhibition by either Cr³⁺ or Cr⁶⁺. These results indicated that through specific metal chelation, a NR-based method for individually quantifying Cr³⁺ and Cr⁶⁺ species in aqueous solutions could be developed. The ability to restore activity to NR which been previously inhibited by exposure to 100 μM Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cr³⁺ was explored to determine whether NR activity could be recovered by EDTA additions for use in consecutive metal inhibition assays. The results showed NR activity could not be regained after exposure to Cr³⁺ or Cu²⁺, but did partially recover activity after Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺ exposure.     

Photoactive chemosensors 4: a Cu protein cavity mimicking fluorescent chemosensor for selective Cu recognition

Fluorescent chemosensor 3 can sense Cu²⁺ ions (1-8 μM) even in the presence of elevated levels of Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ag⁺ and Pb²⁺ (5000 μM). 3 can also analyze for Ag⁺ ions (50-500 μM) in the presence of Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺ (5000 μM) but Cu²⁺ strongly interferes.     

Number of species in complexation equilibria of SNAZOXS or Naphtylazoxine 6S and Cd(2+), Co(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Pb(2+) and Zn(2+) ions by PCA of UV-vis spectra

A critical comparison of the various PCA methods on the absorbance matrix data concerning the complexation equilibria between SNAZOXS and Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ or Naphtylazoxine 6S and Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ at 25 °C is performed. The number of complex species in a complex-forming equilibria mixture is the first important step for further qualitative and quantitative analysis in all forms of spectral data treatment. Therefore, the accuracy of the nine selected index functions for the prediction of the number of light-absorbing components that contribute to a set of spectra is critically tested using the principal component PCA algorithm INDICES in S-Plus software. Four precise methods based upon a knowledge of the experimental error of the absorbance data and five approximate methods requiring no such knowledge are discussed. Precise methods always predict the correct number of components even a presence of the minor species in mixture. Due to the large variations in the index values and even at logarithmic scale they do not reach an obvious point where the slope changes. An improved identification with the second or third derivative and derivative ratio function for some indices is preferred. Behind the number of various complexes formed the stability constants of species ML, ML₂, (and ML₃, respectively) type log β₁₁, log β₁₂, (and log β₁₃, respectively) for the system of SNAZOXS (ligand L) with six metals (the standard deviation s(log β_pq) of the last valid digits are in brackets) Cd²⁺ (4.50(3), 8.36(7)), Co²⁺ (5.75(6), 9.79(9), 13.05(2)), Cu²⁺ (6.69(6), 11.40(7)), Ni²⁺ (6.44(8), 10.91(11), 15.07(10)), Pb²⁺ (5.63(5), 9.97(9)) and Zn²⁺ (5.11(3), 8.84(5)) and for system of Naphtylazoxine 6S with Cd²⁺ (6.08(4), 11.44(7), 16.06(11)), Cu²⁺ (7.80(8), 13.41(14)), Ni²⁺ (6.35(12), 11.43(19), 16.68(24)) and Zn²⁺ (7.01(8), 12.65(15)) at 25 °C are estimated with SQUAD(84) nonlinear regression of the mole-ratio spectrophotometric data. The proposed strategy of an efficient experimentation in a stability constants determination, followed by a computational strategy, is presented with goodness-of-fit tests and various regression diagnostics able to prove the reliability of the chemical model proposed.     

Spectroscopic,structure and DFT studies of copper(II) and palladium(II) complexes of pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde-2-pyridylhydrazone: A chromogenic agent for palladium(II)

A heterocyclic hydrazone ligand, pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde-2-pyridylhydrazone, HL, 1, was investigated as a new chromogenic agent for selective detection of Pd²⁺. The ligand HL, 1, undergoes 1:1 complexation with Pd²⁺ and Cu²⁺ to form complexes [Pd(L)Cl], 1a and [Cu(HL)Cl₂], 1b respectively. The complex 1a gives a characteristic absorption peak at 536 nm with distinct reddish-pink coloration. The change in color can easily be distinguished from other metal complexes by the naked eye. No obvious interference was observed in the presence of other metal ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Al³⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Sn²⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺). The association constants, K_ass (UV–Vis), were found to be 5.52 ± 0.004 × 10⁴ for 1a and 4.94 ± 0.006 × 10⁴ for 1b at 298 K. On excitation at 295 nm, the ligand HL, 1 strongly emits at 372 nm due to an intraligand ¹(π–π^∗) transition. Upon complexation the emission peaks are blue shifted (λ_ex 295 nm, λ_em 358 nm for 1a and λ_ex 295 nm, λ_em 367 nm for 1b) along with a quenching (F/F₀ 0.32 for 1a and 0.88 for 1b) in the emission intensity. DFT and TDDFT calculations were highly consistent with the spectroscopic behavior of the ligand and complexes. The molecular structure of the complex 1b has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.     

Synthesis,characterization, aggregation and thermal properties of a novel polymeric metal-free phthalocyanine and its metal complexes

A novel polymeric metal-free phthalocyanine (M = 2H) and its metal complexes (M = Zn, Cu, Co and Ni) were prepared by the tetramerization reaction of 3,6,9-Tris(p-tolylsulfonyl)-1,11-bis(3,4-dicyanophenoxy)-3,6,9-triazaundecane 5 with the appropriate materials. The electrical conductivities of the metal-free phthalocyanine and the metal complexes, measured in air, were found to be ∼10⁻⁶–10⁻⁵ S m⁻¹. The aggregation property of the zinc complex 7 was investigated with Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Ag⁺ cations. Thermal analysis of the polymers were done by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) at a heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹ under a nitrogen atmosphere. All the novel compounds were characterized by using elemental analysis, UV–Vis, FT–IR, NMR and MS spectral data and DSC, DTA/TG techniques.     

Highly selective and sensitive paper-based colorimetric sensor using thiosulfate catalytic etching of silver nanoplates for trace determination of copper ions

A novel, highly selective and sensitive paper-based colorimetric sensor for trace determination of copper (Cu²⁺) ions was developed. The measurement is based on the catalytic etching of silver nanoplates (AgNPls) by thiosulfate (S₂O₃²⁻). Upon the addition of Cu²⁺ to the ammonium buffer at pH 11, the absorption peak intensity of AuNPls/S₂O₃²⁻ at 522 nm decreased and the pinkish violet AuNPls became clear in color as visible to the naked eye. This assay provides highly sensitive and selective detection of Cu²⁺ over other metal ions (K⁺, Cr³⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, As³⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, Pb²⁺, Al³⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Bi³⁺). A paper-based colorimetric sensor was then developed for the simple and rapid determination of Cu²⁺ using the catalytic etching of AgNPls. Under optimized conditions, the modified AgNPls coated at the test zone of the devices immediately changes in color in the presence of Cu²⁺. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 1.0 ng mL⁻¹ by visual detection. For semi-quantitative measurement with image processing, the method detected Cu²⁺ in the range of 0.5–200 ng mL⁻¹(R² = 0.9974) with an LOD of 0.3 ng mL⁻¹. The proposed method was successfully applied to detect Cu²⁺ in the wide range of real samples including water, food, and blood. The results were in good agreement according to a paired t-test with results from inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).     

Metal ions recovery with alginic acid coupled to ultrafiltration membrane

Alginic acid (AA) is a natural polysaccharide derived from brown algae. Naturally AA is present in cellular wall forming insoluble complexes with ions as calcium, magnesium, and sodium. This polymer is composed of uronic acids as d-manuronic acid and l-guloronic acid (units differing in C5 configuration) which are disposed in blocks or alternating on principal chain due its spatial configuration. In its structure only hydroxy and carboxylic acid are present, with a pK_{a alginic acid} = 3.45. At pH = 4.3 this polymer is completely soluble in water. Metal ion retention was evaluated using liquid-phase polymer-based retention (LPR) technique elution method, and metal ions studied were Ag⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺ at different pH and filtration factor. A high efficiency for all metal ions at all pH was reveled with a maximum at pH = 4.5 of 100% of majority of metal ions. To evaluate the maximum retention capacity (MRC) of AA, LPR technique concentration method was used. Metal ion/polymer ratio from 48 to 325 mg/g for Zn²⁺ and Ag⁺ were studied, respectively. Homopolymer and polymer-metal ion complexes were characterized using FT-IR, Far-IR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and thermogravimetric analysis. FT-IR revealed relevant shifts between AA and PMC, which involve carboxylic acid, hydroxy, and ether groups. DLS shows non-pH-dependent sizes of alginic acid-silver complexes.     

Bulgarian natural diatomites: modification and characterization

Natural Bulgarian diatomite modified by oxidation with sulfuric acid and H₂O₂ or by coating with manganese oxide was characterized considering its chemical composition, surface area, pore volume, and structure. Modified diatomites displayed larger surface area and pore volumes in comparison with untreated natural diatomite, which favored their sorption behavior. Sorption properties of diatomites towards Fe³⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Cr³⁺, Pd²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ were investigated and their sorption capacities were determined. Sorption properties of manganese oxide-modified diatomite were superior to those of diatomite modified by oxidation. Owing to its high sorption capacity towards Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cr³⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺, the manganese oxide-modified diatomite is a promising low-cost sorbent for selective removal of milligram amounts of these toxic metal ions from contaminated water.     

Synthesis of calix[4]arene(amido)monocrowns and their photoresponsive derivatives

A series of new calix[4]arene(amido)mono-crown compounds have been synthesized through aminolysis of calix[4]arene esters and intramolecular cyclization of the intermediates. The title compounds were converted into their nitro and azo substituted derivatives to provide novel photoresponsive molecular receptors for transition metal ions. Single crystal X-ray analysis of calix[4]arene(ethyleneamido)mono-crown (2a) revealed that the compound is present in a cone conformation with an amido loop that caps the lower rim of calix[4]arene cavity to result in stacking along axis a and axis c to provide supramolecular aggregates in the solid state. Evaluation of synthesized macrocycles in the solution phase for recognition of transition metal cations (Cr³⁺, Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg⁺, Hg²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Pt²⁺) by UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that p-tert-butyl-calix[4]arene mono-(amidocrown) 1c selectively shows a blue shift at 38 nm on interaction with Hg⁺ ions.     

Nanometer-sized alumina coated with chromotropic acid as solid phase metal extractant from environmental samples and determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

A method for solid phase extraction of trace metals such as Cd²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ using nanometer-sized alumina coated with chromotropic acid prior to determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) has been developed. Various influencing parameters on the separation and preconcentration of trace metals, pH, flow rate, sample volume, amount of adsorbent, concentration of eluent and sorption kinetics have been studied. The detection limits for Cd²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ were found to be 0.14, 0.62, 0.22, 0.54, 0.27, 0.28, 0.53 and 0.38 ng ml^− 1, respectively. The adsorption capacity of the solid phase adsorption material is 10.3, 11.3, 14.5, 16.4, 15.1, 11.7, 15.4 and 16.8 mg g^− 1 for Cd²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni^2+, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺, respectively. The preconcentration factor was obtained in the range of 50-100 for all studied metal ions. Coexisting ions over a high concentration range have not shown any significant effects on the determination of aforesaid metal ions. The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by standard reference materials (NIST 1643e: water, NIST 1573a: tomato leaves and NIST 1568a rice flour) and natural waters and the results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values.     

Influence of the central metal on the crystal structures and electronic structures of biferrocene trinuclear complexes

Five metal-bridged biferrocene complexes of the Schiff-base ligand (HL = S-benzyl-N-(ferrocenyl-1-methyl-methylidene)dithiocarbazate) have been studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the complexes show that the central metal ions are tetra-coordinated by two ligands in two modes: the central d⁸ transition metal ions (Ni²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Pt²⁺) are nearly square-planar coordinated and the d¹⁰ transition metal ions (Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) are tetrahedrally coordinated. Interestingly, the isomer shifts in ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy are also of two kinds: d⁸ transition metal ions (0.097-0.247 mm/s) and d¹⁰ transition metal ions (0.416-0.435 mm/s).     

Selective and efficient liquid membrane transport of gold as gold cyanide using an anion carrier

The facilitated transport of Au(III) from cyanide solutions through a bulk liquid membrane is reported. The organic phase consisted of a chloroform solution containing Victoria blue dye as the Au(CN)⁻₄ carrier. The effects of pH of source phase, potassium cyanide concentration in source phase, Victoria blue concentration in the organic phase and sodium hydroxide in the receiving phase on the efficiency of transport process were examined. Under optimum conditions the extent of Au(CN)⁻₄ transport across the liquid membrane was about 97% after 180 min. The carrier can selectively and efficiently transport Au(CN)⁻₄ ion from the aqueous solutions containing other cations such as alkali and alkaline earth, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Pt²⁺, Pd²⁺ and Ni²⁺.     

A chelating resin with bis[2-(2-benzothiazolylthioethyl)sulfoxide]: Synthesis, characterization and properties for the removal of trace heavy metal ion in water samples

A new chelating resin containing bis[2-(2-benzothiazolylthioethyl)sulfoxide] was synthesized using chloromethylated polystyrene as material and characterized by elemental analysis and infrared spectra. The adsorption capacities of the newly formed resin for Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Fe³⁺ were investigated over the pH range 1.0-6.0. The resin exhibited no affinity for alkali or alkaline earth metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacities of the resin for Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Fe³⁺ were 1.49, 0.96, 0.58, 0.11, 0.37, 0, 0.24, 0.36 and 0.25 mmol g⁻¹, respectively. In column operation it had been observed that Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ in trace quantity could be separated from different binary mixtures and Hg²⁺ could be effectively removed from industrial wastewater and the natural water spiked with Hg²⁺ at usual pH.     

A new fluorescent sensor bearing three dansyl fluorophores for highly sensitive and selective detection of mercury(II) ions

A novel fluorometric sensor bearing three dansyl moieties based on tris[2-(2-aminoethylthio)ethyl]amine was prepared by a simple approach using a conventional two-step synthesis. The sensor exhibits highly Hg²⁺-selective ON-OFF fluorescence quenching behavior in aqueous acetonitrile solutions and is shown to discriminate various competing metal ions, particularly Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, and Pb²⁺ as well as Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Na⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺, with a detection limit of 1.15 × 10⁻⁷ M or 23 ppb.     

On-line preconcentration and simultaneous determination of heavy metal ions by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

A flow injection analysis system for on-line preconcentration and simultaneous determination of Bi³⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in aqueous samples by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-atomic emission spectrometry with a charge coupled detector is described. The preconcentration of analytes is accomplished by retention of their chelates with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate in aqueous solution on a solid phase containing octadecyl silica in a minicolumn. Methanol, as eluent, is introduced into the conventional nebulizer of the ICP instrument. The effects of different parameters, including preconcentration flow rate (equal to sample flow rate (SR)), eluent flow rate (ER), weight of solid phase (W) and eluent loop volume (EV), were optimized by the super-modified simplex method. The optimum conditions were evaluated to be SR 7.2 ml min⁻¹, ER 3.5 ml min⁻¹, W of 100 mg and EV of 0.8 ml. An enrichment factor of 312.5 for each analyte was obtained. The detection limits of the proposed method for Bi³⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ were evaluated as 1.3, 1.0, 0.8, 0.3, 14.7, 0.5, 5.5 and 0.1 ng l⁻¹, respectively. The effect of several metal ions on percent recovery was also studied. The method was applied to the recovery of these heavy metals from real matrices and to the simultaneous determination of these cations in different water samples.     

Number of species in complexation equilibria of o-, m- and p-CAPAZOXS with Cd, Co, Ni, Pb and Zn ions by PCA of UV-vis spectra

A critical comparison of the selected derivative principal component analysis (PCA) methods on the absorbance matrix data concerning the complexation equilibria between o-CAPAZOXS and Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ or m-CAPAZOXS and Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ or p-CAPAZOXS and Cd²⁺ and Zn²⁺ at 25 °C is provided. As the number of complex species in a complex-forming equilibria mixture is an important step in spectral data treatment, the nine selected index functions for the prediction of the number of light-absorbing species that contribute to a set of spectra is critically tested by the PCA. An improved identification with the second SD(AE) or third derivative TD(AE) and derivative ratio function ROD(AE) for the average error criterion AE is preferred. After the number of various complexes formed the stability constants of species ML, ML₂ (and ML₃, respectively) type log β₁₁, log β₁₂ (and log β₁₃, respectively) for the system of o-CAPAZOXS (ligand L) with the metals (the standard deviation s(log β_pq) of the last valid digits is given in brackets) Cd²⁺ (6.39(5) and 11.51(9)), Pb²⁺ (4.24(2) and 9.01(2)) and Zn²⁺ (5.18(7) and 9.06(10)) and for the system of m-CAPAZOXS with Cd²⁺ (6.59(20) and 11.51(32)), Co²⁺ (7.19(6) and 12.19(8)), Ni²⁺ (7.64(7) and 13.39(12)) and Zn²⁺ (4.83(3) and 9.57(3)) and for the system of p-CAPAZOXS with Cd²⁺ (6.44(5), 10.99(10) and 14.57(25)) and Zn²⁺ (6.84(16), 13.05(29) and 18.74(43)) at 25 °C are estimated using SQUAD(84) nonlinear regression of the mole-ratio spectrophotometric data. The computational strategy is presented with goodness-of-fit tests and various regression diagnostics capable of proving the reliability of the chemical model proposed.     

Probing trace Pb(2+) using electrodeposited N,N'-(o-phenylene)-bis-benzenesulfonamide polymer as a novel selective ion capturing film

A novel film modified electrode for the determination of trace lead was developed in this work. The modified electrode was prepared by the electropolymerization of N,N′-(o-phenylene)-bis-benzenesulfonamide (PBSA) as the ion capturing reagent to create the functional film. The modified electrode shows a high selectivity towards Pb²⁺ over interfering cations, e.g. Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cr²⁺, and the calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 2.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M with correlation coefficient of 0.999. For 20 min accumulation, detection limit of 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ M was obtained at the signal to noise ratio of 3. Analytical availability of the modified electrode was demonstrated by the application for samples from pond water.     

Theoretical study on the interaction of sulfur‐ and aminopyridine‐containing chelating resins with Hg(II) and Pb(II)

The geometries and energetics of complexes of Hg(II) and Pb(II) with sulfur‐ and aminopyridine‐containing chelating resin including crosslinked polystyrene immobilizing 2‐aminopyridine via sulfur‐containing (PVBS‐AP), sulfoxide‐containing (PVBSO‐AP), and sulfone‐containing (PVBSO₂‐AP) spacer arms have been investigated theoretically, and thus interactions of the metal ions with chelating resins were evaluated. The results indicate that PVBS‐AP behaves as a tridentate ligand to coordinate with the metal ions by S and two N atoms to form chelating compounds with S atom playing a dominant role in the coordination, whereas PVBSO‐AP and PVBSO₂‐AP interact with metal cations, respectively, in a tricoordinate manner by O and two N atoms forming chelating complexes. Furthermore, it is revealed that O and N2 atoms of PVBSO‐AP are the main contributor of coordination to Hg(II), whereas N2 atom of PVBSO₂‐AP is mainly responsible for the coordination to Hg(II). For PVBSO‐AP‐Pb²⁺ and PVBSO₂‐AP‐Pb²⁺ complex, the coordination is dominated by the synergetic effect of N1, N2, and O atoms. Natural bond orbital and second‐order perturbation analyses suggest that the charge transfer from the chelating resins to metal ions is mainly dominated by the interactions of lone pair of electrons of the donor atoms with the unoccupied orbitals of metal ions. Hg(II) complexes exhibit larger binding energies than the corresponding Pb(II) complexes, implying the chelating resins exhibit higher affinity toward Hg(II), which is consistent with the experimental results. Combined the theoretical and experimental results, further understanding of the structural information of the complexes and the coordination mechanism was achieved. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Preparation,spectroscopic characterization and X-ray crystal and molecular structures of nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes of the Schiff base formed from isatin and S-methyldithiocarbazate (Hisa-sme)

Complexes of general formula, [M(isa-sme)₂] · n(solvate) [M = Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺; isa-sme = monoanionic form of the Schiff base formed by condensation of isatin with S-methyldithiocarbazate; n = 1 or 1.5; solvate = MeCN, DMSO, MeOH or H₂O] have been synthesized and characterized by a variety of physicochemical techniques. An X-ray crystallographic structure determination of the [Ni(isa-sme)₂] · MeCN complex reveals a six-coordinate, distorted octahedral geometry. The two uninegatively charged, tridentate, Schiff base ligands are coordinated to the nickel(II) ion meridionally via the amide O-atoms, the azomethine N-atoms and the thiolate S-atoms. By contrast, the crystal structure of [Zn(isa-sme)₂] · MeOH shows a four-coordinate distorted tetrahedral geometry. The two dithiocarbazate ligands are coordinated as N, S bidentate chelates with the amide O-atom not coordinated. The structure of the copper(II) complex [Cu(isa-sme)₂] · DMSO is complicated and comprises two different complexes in the asymmetric unit, one four- and the other five-coordinate. The four-coordinate copper(II) has a distorted (flattened) tetrahedral geometry as seen in the Zn(II) analogue whereas the five-coordinate copper(II) has a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with one ligand coordinated to the copper(II) ion as a tridentate (N, S, O) ligand and the other coordinated as a bidentate N, S chelate. EPR spectroscopy indicates that in solution only one form is present, that being a distorted tetrahedral complex.