A supramolecular microfluidic optical chemosensor

A supramolecular microfluidic optical chemosensor (muFOC) has been fabricated. A serpentine channel has been patterned with a sol-gel film that incorporates a cyclodextrin supramolecule modified with a Tb(3+) macrocycle. Bright emission from the Tb(3+) ion is observed upon exposure of the (mu)FOC to biphenyl in aqueous solution. The signal transduction mechanism was elucidated by undertaking steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements directly on the optical chemosensor patterned within the microfluidic network. The presence of biphenyl in the cyclodextrin receptor site triggers Tb(3+) emission by an absorption-energy transfer-emission process. These results demonstrate that the intricate signal transduction mechanisms of supramolecular optical chemosensors are successfully preserved in microfluidic environments.     

Long-range magnetic ordering in iron jarosites prepared by redox-based hydrothermal methods

The iron jarosites, plumbojarosite, Pb0.5Fe3(OH)6(SO4)2, argentojarosite, AgFe3(OH)6(SO4)2, and thallium jarosite, TlFe3(OH)6(SO4)2, along with the selenate-capped jarosite analogues of potassium, KFe3(OH)6(SeO4)2, and rubidium, RbFe3(OH)6(SeO4)2, have been prepared in their analytically pure forms by employing redox-based hydrothermal methods. The crystal structures of these materials have been determined, and all are found to be essentially isostructrual including Pb0.5Fe3(OH)6(SO4)2, which is distinct from the structure reported for naturally mined samples. All iron jarosites show long-range order (LRO), signified by a sharp transition temperature, T(N), which falls in the narrow temperature range of 61.4 +/- 5 K. The mechanism responsible for this ordering has been established by examining magnetostructural correlations for the jarosites possessing various interlayer cation and capping groups. We show that all magnetic properties of jarosites, including LRO, find their origin in the basic magnetic unit, the intralayer Fe3(mu-OH)3 triangle. Field-dependent magnetization experiments are consistent with the antiferromagnetic stacking of an out of plane moment developed from spin canting within Fe3(mu-OH)3 triangles. Together with the previously reported AFe3(OH)6(SO4)2 (A = Na+, K+, Rb+ and NH4+) jarosites, these compounds provide a framework for probing magnetic ordering in a spin frustrated lattice of the largest series of isoelectronic and isostructural kagomé systems yet discovered.     

Meso-tetraaryl cofacial bisporphyrins delivered by Suzuki cross-coupling

The Suzuki cross-coupling methodology provides a facile synthetic approach for the modular preparation of meso-tetraaryl cofacial bisporphyrins anchored by xanthene and dibenzofuran. This synthetic method furnishes cofacial bisporphyrin templates with enhanced steric and electronic protection from mu-oxo formation and oxidative degradation. The ability of these platforms to support multielectron oxidation chemistry mediated by proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is demonstrated by their reactivity for the catalytic disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water.     

Water addition to a two-electron mixed-valence bimetallic center

Water adds to the two-electron mixed-valence Ir(0,II)(2) core of Ir(2)(tfepma)(3)Cl(2)(tfepma = MeN[P(OCH(2)CF(3))(2)](2)) to cleanly generate an Ir(I,III)(2) hydride. Dehydrohalogenation across the Ir-Ir bond returns the complex to an Ir(0,II)(2) species.     

Aerobic catalytic photooxidation of olefins by an electron-deficient Pacman bisiron(III) mu-oxo porphyrin

The synthesis and oxygen atom transfer (OAT) photoreactivity of a diiron(III) mu-oxo meso-tripentafluorophenyl bisporphyrin appended to a dibenzofuran spacer are presented. Reaction of 4,6-diformyldibenzofuran under standard Lindsey conditions furnishes the parent cofacial porphyrin architecture in a single step. These cofacial porphyrins photocatalyze the oxidation of sulfides and olefins using visible light and molecular oxygen as the terminal oxidant. High turnover numbers reflect the enhanced stability of the electron-deficient diiron(III) mu-oxo bisporphyrin core appended to a dibenzofuran spacer under aerobic conditions.     

The preparation of dimolybdenum(V,V) complexes from molybdenum quadruply bonded metal-metal dimers

Oxidation of quadruply bonded metal-metal dimers in the presence of good π-accepting ligands results in the formation of Mo^V---Mo^V compounds of the type [MO₂(μ-X)₂(Y)(Y′)]²⁺ (X = O or S; Y,Y′ = O,O; S,S; O,S). Reaction of MO₂(O₂CCH₃)₄ with oxygen in the presence of Na₂mnt (mnt = 1,2-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dithiolate) gives [MO₂(μ-S)₂(O)(S)(mnt)₂]²⁻ (1). The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c, with cell dimensions a = 19.547(4), b = 15.210(4), c = 18.754(6) Å, β = 101.69(2)°, V= 5460(2) ų, and Z = 4. Similarly, oxidation of o-dichlorobenzene solutions of Mo₂Cl₄(CH₃CN)₄ and 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-dipyridyl (dmpby) or, more directly, the reaction of Mo₂Cl₄(dmbpy)₂ with oxygen leads to the formation of a red solid, which was characterized by X-ray crystallography to be Mo₂(μ-O)₂(O)₂(Cl)₂(dmbpy)₂ (2). Red diamond crystals, prepared by slow evaporation of CH₃CN solutions of 2, are trigonal and in the space group P3₁21 with cell dimensions a = 16.135(4), b = 16.135(4), c = 10.709(3) Å, V = 2414.4(13) ų and Z = 3. In both structures, the geometry about each of the molybdenum atoms is a distorted square pyramid with terminal oxygen or sulphur atoms at the apices and in a syn conformation. The molybdenum-molybdenum bond distances of 2.858(1) Å and 2.562(2) Å in structures of 1 and 2, respectively, are typical of other Mo^V---Mo^V dimers and indicative of a single Mo---Mo bond.     

Spectroscopic and photophysical properties of hexanuclear rhenium(III) chalcogenide clusters

The electronic, vibrational, and excited-state properties of hexanuclear rhenium(III) chalcogenide clusters based on the [Re(6)(mu(3)-Q)(8)](2+) (Q = S, Se) core have been investigated by spectroscopic and theoretical methods. Ultraviolet or visible excitation of [Re(6)Q(8)](2+) clusters produces luminescence with ranges in maxima of 12 500-15 100 cm(-)(1), emission quantum yields of 1-24%, and emission lifetimes of 2.6-22.4 microseconds. Nonradiative decay rate constants and the luminescence maxima follow the trend predicted by the energy gap law (EGL). Examination of 24 clusters in solution and 14 in the solid phase establish that exocluster ligands engender the observed EGL behavior; clusters with oxygen- or nitrogen-based apical ligands achieve maximal quantum yields and the longest lifetimes. The excited-state decay mechanism was investigated by applying nonradiative decay models to temperature-dependent emission experiments. Solid-state Raman spectra were recorded to identify vibrational contributions to excited-state deactivation; spectral assignments were enabled by normal coordinate analysis afforded from Hartree-Fock and DFT calculations. Excited-state decay is interpreted with a model where normal modes largely centered on the [Re(6)Q(8)](2+) core induce nonradiative relaxation. Hartree-Fock and DFT calculations of the electronic structure of the hexarhenium family of compounds support such a model. These experimental and theoretical studies of [Re(6)Q(8)](2+) luminescence provide a framework for elaborating a variety of luminescence-based applications of the largest series of isoelectronic clusters yet discovered.     

Eclipsed M2X6 compounds exhibiting very short metal-metal triple bonds

The preparation, characterization, and electronic structure of homoleptic complexes of molybdenum and tungsten bridged by bis(alkylamido)phenylboranes, M(2)[RN-B(Ph)-NR](3) (M = Mo, R = Et (1), (i)Pr (2); M = W, R = Et (3), (i)Pr (4)), are described. These triple metal-metal bond species (i) exhibit a nearly eclipsed ligand geometry and (ii) possess the shortest metal-metal bonds of neutral dimolybdenum and ditungsten M(2)X(6) complexes observed to date (d(Mo-Mo) = 2.1612(6) A (1); d(W-W) = 2.2351(7) A (4)).