(P-Bis(pentafluorophenyl) substituted) PCP-pincer Ru(II) complexes: A theoretical study of the molecular structure and electronic properties

The differences between the molecular structures of the PCP-pincer complex [RuCl{C₆H₃(CH₂P(C₆H₅)₂)₂-2,6}(PPh₃)] ([RuCl(PCP^H)(PPh₃)], 1) and its tetrakis-pentafluorophenyl substituted analogue [RuCl{C₆H₃(CH₂P(C₆F₅)₂)₂-2,6}(PPh₃)] ([RuCl(PCP^F20)(PPh₃)], 2) have been rationalised by performing calculations on the cations [Ru(PCP^H)(PPh₃)]⁺ (1cat) and [Ru(PCP^F20)(PPh₃)]⁺ (2cat). The molecular interactions between the chloride ligand and the axial rings, as found in 1 and 2, respectively, have been studied computationally in the model systems [(C₆X₅PH₂)₂Cl⁻] (X = H, F). The calculations on 2cat show that in 2 it is most likely the attractive electrostatic interaction between the chloride ligand and the fluorinated phenyl rings that forces the C_ipso atom to occupy an axial position rather than an equatorial one in the observed (X-ray of 2) square pyramidal arrangement. In 1, however, repulsive steric hindrance forces the PPh₃ ligand to take the apical position. The applicability of the TD-DFT method for the calculation of the electronic spectra of the PCP-pincer compounds 1 and 2 has been tested. The results indicate that the excitation energies calculated for both complexes are in a reasonable agreement with the experimental absorption maxima. However, for 1, all the calculated transition energies are underestimated.     

Finite-temperature infinite matter with effective-field-theory-inspired energy-density functionals

The European Physical Journal A - We investigate $$J/\psi $$ decays into octet baryon–antibaryons pairs. The decay amplitudes are computed within the collinear QCD factorisation framework....     

Hybrid Polyoxotungstates as Functional Comonomers in New Cross‐Linked Catalytic Polymers for Sustainable Oxidation with Hydrogen Peroxide

Anchoring terminal octenyl tails on molecular polyoxotungstates yield polymerizable organic–inorganic monomers with formula [{CH₂?CH(CH₂)₆Si}_xO_ySiW_wO_z]^4? [x=2, w=11, y=1, z=39 ( 1 ); x=2, w=10, y=1, z=36 ( 2 ); and x=4, w=9, y=3, z=34 ( 3 )]. These molecular hybrids can use aqueous hydrogen peroxide to catalyze the selective oxidation of organic sulfides in CH₃CN. Copolymerization of 1 – 3 with methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate leads to porous materials with a homogeneous distribution of the functional monomers, as indicated by converging evidence from FTIR spectroscopy and electronic microscopy. The catalytic polymers activate hydrogen peroxide for oxygen transfer, as demonstrated by the quantitative and selective oxidation of methyl p‐tolyl sulfide, which was screened as model substrate. The hybrid material containing monomer 2 was also tested in n‐octane to evaluate its potential for the oxidation and removal of dibenzothiophene, a well‐known gasoline contaminant.     

Local Unit Roots and Global Stationarity of TARMA Models

In this paper the (strict and weak) stationarity of threshold autoregressive moving average models is discussed. After examining the strict stationarity, mainly based on the random coefficient autoregressive representation of the model, we provide sufficient conditions for its weak stationarity that allow to obtain a wider stationarity region with respect to some previous results given in the literature. These conditions are discussed to distinguish between global and local stationarity, whose relation has been considered in detail. The threshold process has been further evaluated to face the problem related to the so called existence of a threshold structure in the data generating process that is strictly related to the stationarity and has significant relevance when the parameters of the model have to be estimated.     

7‐Chloro‐3,6‐di­methyl‐1H‐indene‐2‐carb­aldehyde

In the crystal structure of C₁₂H₁₁ClO, the (planar) mol­ecules give rise to a parallel packing. A model crystal obtained by semi‐empirical and packing‐energy calculations is consistent with the observed structure.     

Complexation of natural and methylated β-cyclodextrins with long-chain Carboxylic acids in aqueous solutions. Calorimetric studies at 298 K

The formation of complexes between β-cyclodextrin or methyl-β-cyclodextrin and monocarboxylic acids from C₅ to C₁₂ has been studied calorimetrically at 298 K in aqueous buffer phosphate, pH 11.3. When a complex forms, calorimetry enables the calculation of both the enthalpy and the association constant, from which the Gibbs free energy and the entropy of the process can be obtained. The forces involved in the association process are then discussed in the light of the signs and values of the thermodynamic parameters obtained. For β-cyclodextrin, 1:1 inclusion complexes form, characterized by an irregular variation in the values of enthalpies, entropies and association constants at increasing alkyl chain length. A model is proposed to explain this unusual behaviour for acids longer than ten carbon atoms. The association involving methyl-β-cyclodextrin shows, instead, a regular variation of the thermodynamic parameters up to the C₁₂ term. An elongation of the cavity effect is discussed: the cavity behaves as it were deeper than that of the natural cyclodextrins. Association is characterized prevailingly by hydrophobic interactions; for the longer terms, the high and almost invariant entropic contribution determines the large association constants, notwithstanding the positive, unfavorable enthalpic contribution. This is an indication that the relaxation of water molecules from the hydrophobic hydration shells of the external methyl groups is the contribution that mainly determines the association process.     

PHOTOOXIDATION OF LANTHANIDE ION-LYSOZYME COMPLEXES. A NEW APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF INTRAMOLECULAR DISTANCES IN PROTEINS

Abstract— Rare-earth metal ions give 1:1 complexes with hen's egg-white lysozyme. Spectroscopic and enzymic activity measurements suggest that the binding site consists of the side chains of glutamic-35 and aspartic-52. The spatial conformation of these complexes is practically identical to that of native lysozyme, especially as concerns the environment of the tryptophyl side chains. Irradiation of La³⁺-lysozyme by visible light, in the presence of proflavine as photosensitizer, causes the oxidative modification of all the tryptophyl and methionyl residues at almost the same rate as in uncomplexed protein. On the other hand, when lanthanide ions with nonvanishing magnetic moments were coordinated with lysozyme, at least some tryptophans and methionines were protected from photooxidative attack. The distance of the protected residues from the coordination site increased with increasing magnetic moment of the bound metal ion, which suggests that inhibition of the photoprocess was mainly due to perturbation of the lifetime of the electronically excited intermediate species. On the basis of the atomic coordinates of lysozyme in the crystal state, it is thus possible to define a "quenching radius" for the various lanthanide ions; these radii could in turn be used to evaluate intramolecular distances in proteins of unknown tertiary structure, by identifying the amino acid residues that are protected or photooxidized upon irradiation of complexes between the given protein and several different lanthanide ions. Our studieson lysozyme allow us to define five radii of protection, ranging from 6·7 Å for Sm³⁺ to over 17 Å for Dy³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺ and Tb³⁺. Therefore, this technique opens the possibility of mapping appreciably large regions of a protein molecule.     

Kinetics and equilibria of the interactions of hydroxamic acids with gallium(III) and indium(III)

The thermodynamics and kinetics of the binding of Ga(III) and In(III) to two hydroxamic acids, C6H5-C(O)N(OH)H (BHA) and C6H5-C(O)N(OH)C6H5 (PBHA), have been investigated in acidic media. Spectrophotometric titrations in the UV region reveal that, with excess metal, only the chelate ML forms, whereas the concentration of the protonated species, MHL, is negligible. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the driving force for formation of ML from MOH2+ and HL is mainly enthalpic, with entropic contributions favoring InL2+ and disfavoring GaL2+ formation. The kinetic (stopped-flow) experiments are interpreted on the basis of two parallel reaction paths both involving reaction of the undissociated ligand (HL): (a) M + HL <==> MHL <==> ML + H where MHL is in a steady state and (b) MOH + HL <==> ML + H2O. Whereas gallium binding to BHA and PBHA proceeds mainly through path b, indium binding to PBHA proceeds through both a and b paths. The rates of both the a and b steps are ligand dependent. Two alternative mechanisms are proposed. The first is based on the electronic characteristics of the ligands and is of the Ia type. The second, of the Id type, assumes that a considerable fraction of the ligand is unreactive owing to intramolecular hydrogen bonding (possibly including a water molecule) which blocks the reaction site. The reasons for preferring the former mechanism are discussed.