Magnetic properties of cyano-bridged Ln3+-M3+ complexes. Part I: trinuclear complexes (Ln3+ = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm; M3+ = FeLS, Co) with bpy as blocking ligand

The reaction of Ln(NO3)3(aq) with K3[Fe(CN)6] or K3[Co(CN)6] and 2,2'-bipyridine in water/ethanol led to eight trinuclear complexes: trans-[M(CN)4(mu-CN)2{Ln(H2O)4(bpy)2}2][M(CN)6].8H2O (M = Fe3+ or Co3+, Ln = La3+, Ce3+, Pr3+, Nd3+, and Sm3+). The structures for the eight complexes [La2Fe] (1), [Ce2Fe] (2), [Pr2Fe] (3), [Nd2Fe] (4), [Ce2Co] (5), [Pr2Co] (6), [Nd2Co] (7), and [Sm2Co] (8) have been solved; they crystallize in the triclinic space group P and are isomorphous. They exhibit a supramolecular 3D architecture through hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking interactions. A stereochemical study of the nine-vertex polyhedra of the lanthanide ions, based on continuous shape measures, is presented. No significant magnetic interaction was found between the lanthanide(III) and the iron(III) ions.     

Evaluation of MNDO calculated proton affinities

A large set of charged species arising mainly from protonation or deprotonation of hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, carboxylic acids, amines, imines, and nitriles has been studied by means of the semiempirical self-consistent-field (SCF ) molecular orbital (MO ) MNDO method. From the calculated heats of formation of such charged species and those of neutral molecules, MNDO -estimated proton affinities have been obtained and the results compared with experimental gas-phase proton affinities. If the small size anions and acetylides, for which the method predicts heats of formation too large, are ruled out, the mean absolute error in calculated proton affinities is ca. 7 kcal/mol for hydrocarbons (22 acid-base pairs) and ca. 8 kcal/mol for oxygen-containing compounds (25 acid-base pairs). For nitrogen-containing molecules it is necessary to discard, in addition, the values corresponding to the protonation of alkylamines and imines in order to achieve a reasonable mean absolute error of 7–8 kcal/mol.     

Reactivity of molybdenum and rhenium hydroxo-carbonyl complexes toward organic electrophiles

The hydroxo compounds [Re(OH)(CO)(3)(N-N)] (N-N=bipy, 2 a; Me(2)-bipy, 2 b) were prepared in a biphasic H(2)O/CH(2)Cl(2) medium by reaction of [Re(OTf)(CO)(3)(N-N)] with KOH. In contrast, when anhydrous CH(2)Cl(2) was used, the binuclear hydroxo-bridged compound [[Re(CO)(3)(bipy)](2)(mu-OH)]OTf (3-OTf) was obtained. Compound [Re(OH)(CO)(3)(Me(2)-bipy)] (2 b) reacted with phenyl acetate or vinyl acetate to afford [Re(OAc)(CO)(3)(Me(2)-bipy)] (4) and phenol or acetaldehyde, respectively. The reactions of [Mo(OH)(eta(3)-C(3)H(4)-Me-2)(CO)(2)(phen)] (1), 2 a, and 2 b toward several unsaturated organic electrophiles were studied. The reaction of 1 with (p-tolyl)isocyanate afforded an adduct of N,N'-di(p-tolyl)urea and the carbonato-bridged compound [[Mo(eta(3)-C(3)H(4)-Me-2)(CO)(2)(phen)](2)(mu-eta(1)(O),eta(1)(O)-CO(3))] (5). In contrast, the reaction of 2 a with phenylisocyanate afforded [Re(OC(O)NHPh)(CO)(3)(bipy)] (6); this results from formal PhNCO insertion into the O-H bond. On the other hand, compounds [Mo[SC(O)NH(p-tolyl)](eta(3)-C(3)H(4)-Me-2)(CO)(2)(phen)] (7), [Re[SC(O)NH(p-tolyl)](CO)(3)(Me(2)-bipy)] (8 a), and [Re[SC(O)NHEt](CO)(3)(Me(2)-bipy)] (8 b) were obtained by reaction of 1 or 2 b with the corresponding alkyl or aryl isothiocyanates. In those cases, RNCS was inserted into the M-O bond. The reactions of 1, 2 a, and 2 b with dimethylacetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) gave the complexes [Mo[C(OH)-C(CO(2)Me)C(CO(2)Me)-O](eta(3)-C(3)H(4)-Me-2)(CO)(phen)] (9) and [Re[C(OH)C(CO(2)Me)C(CO(2)Me)O](CO)(2)(N-N)] (N-N=bipy, 10 a; Me(2)-bipy, 10 b). The molecules of these compounds contain five-membered metallacycles that are the result of coupling between the hydroxo ligand, DMAD, and one of the CO ligands. The new compounds were characterized by a combination of IR and NMR spectroscopy, and for [[Re(CO)(3)(bipy)(2)(mu-OH)]BF(4) (3-BF(4)), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 b, 9, and 10 b, also by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Healable dual organic–inorganic crosslinked sol–gel based polymers: Crosslinking density and tetrasulfide content effect

In this article, the first generation of healable sol–gel based polymers is reported. A dual organic–inorganic crosslinked network is developed containing non‐reversible crosslinks and reversible (tetrasulfide) groups. The designed polymer architecture allows thermally induced mesoscale flow leading to damage closure followed by interfacial strength restoration due to reformation of the reversible groups. While the reversible bonds are responsible for the flow and the interface restoration, the irreversible crosslinks control the required mechanical integrity during the healing process. The temperature dependent gap closure kinetics is strongly affected by the crosslinking density and tetrasulfide content. Raman spectroscopy is used to explain the gap closure kinetics in air and dry nitrogen. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1953–1961     

Relation between structure and enthalpy for stacking interactions of aromatic molecules

An approximately linear correlation has been found between the enthalpy of complexation and the area of overlap of the chromophores using published structural and thermodynamical data on the self- and hetero-association of aromatic molecules measured under similar solution conditions. This finding is consistent with the assumption that short-range van-der-Waals forces dominate over other contributions to the enthalpy of stacking of aromatic molecules. It provides a ‘model-independent’ approach for a priori estimation of the enthalpy of aromatic–aromatic stacking interactions from knowledge of the structural properties or vice versa.     

Hydrothermal synthesis,thermal decomposition and optical properties of Fe2F5(H2O)(Htaz)(taz)(Hdma)

Crystal structure of Fe₂F₅(H₂O)(Htaz)(taz)(Hdma) which crystallizes in the triclinic system space group $\text{P}\overline{1}$ with unit cell parameters a = 8.8392(5) Å, b = 9.1948(5) Å, c = 9.5877(5) Å, α = 82.070(3)°, β = 63.699(3)°, γ = 89.202(3)°, Z = 2, and V = 690.91(7) ų, was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 393 K for 72 h, by a mixture of FeF₂/FeF₃, 1,2,4-triazole molecule (Htaz), and hydrofluoric acid solution (HF 4%) in dimethylformamide solvent (DMF). The main feature of this material is the coexistence of two oxidation states for iron atoms (Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺) in the unit cell, which associate by opposite fluorine corners of FeF₅N and FeF₂N₄ octahedra, and/or triazole molecule which originates the 2D produces material. The structure determination, performed from single crystal X-ray diffraction data, lead to the R₁/_WR₂ reliability factors 0.031/0.087. Thermal stability studies (TG/DTG/DTA) show that the decomposition provides in the temperature range 473–773 K and no mass loss was detected before 473 K. Mass spectrometry (MS) has been used. The optical absorption of the solid was measured at the corresponding λ_max using UV–vis diffuse-reflectance spectrum.     

A concise and stereoselective chemoenzymatic synthesis of Sitophilate,the male-produced aggregation pheromone of Sitophilus granarius (L.)

(2S,3R)-Sitophilate, the male-produced aggregation pheromone of the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius (L.) was prepared stereoselectively using a novel chemoenzymatic approach in 50% overall yield. The synthetic design was based on an enantioselective fungal reduction of ethyl 2-methyl-3-oxopentanoate with a strain of Aureobasidium pullulans (CCM H1), followed by a Mitsunobu inversion at C3. The last step in the synthetic sequence was a lipase-mediated transesterification using the commercially available Candida antarctica B lipase (CaL B, Novozym 435) using microwave irradiation under solvent-free conditions.     

Coordinating Ability of Anions,Solvents, Amino Acids,and Gases towards Alkaline and Alkaline-Earth Elements,Transition Metals,and Lanthanides

After briefly reviewing the applications of the coordination ability indices proposed earlier for anions and solvents toward transition metals and lanthanides, a new analysis of crystal structures is applied now to a much larger number of coordinating species: anions (including those that are present in ionic solvents), solvents, amino acids, gases, and a sample of neutral ligands. The coordinating ability towards s-block elements is now also considered. The effect of several factors on the coordinating ability will be discussed: (a) the charge of an anion, (b) the chelating nature of anions and solvents, (c) the degree of protonation of oxo-anions, carboxylates and amino carboxylates, and (d) the substitution of hydrogen atoms by methyl groups in NH₃, ethylenediamine, benzene, ethylene, pyridine and aldehydes. Hit parades of solvents and anions most commonly used in the areas of transition metal, s-block and lanthanide chemistry are deduced from the statistics of their presence in crystal structures.