Conversion of E4 (E4=P4, As4, AsP3) by Ni(0) and Ni(I) Synthons – A Comparative Study

The reactivity of white phosphorus and yellow arsenic towards two different nickel nacnac complexes is investigated. The nickel complexes [(L¹Ni)₂tol] ( 1 , L¹=[{N(C₆H₃ⁱPr₂-2,6)C(Me)}₂CH]⁻) and [K₂][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{1 : 1}-N₂)] ( 6 ) were reacted with P₄, As₄ and the interpnictogen compound AsP₃, respectively, yielding the homobimetallic complexes [(L¹Ni)₂(μ-η²,κ¹:η²,κ¹-E₄)] (E=P ( 2 a ), As ( 2 b ), AsP₃ ( 2 c )), [(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{3 : 3}-E₃)] (E=P ( 3 a ), As ( 3 b )) and [K@18-c-6(thf)₂][L¹Ni(η^{1 : 1}-E₄)] (E=P ( 7 a ), As ( 7 b )), respectively. Heating of 2 a , 2 b or 2 c also leads to the formation of 3 a or 3 b . Furthermore, the reactivity of these compounds towards reduction agents was investigated, leading to [K₂][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{2 : 2}-P₄)] ( 4 ) and [K@18-c-6(thf)₃][(L¹Ni)₂(μ,η^{3 : 3}-E₃)] (E=P ( 5 a ), As ( 5 b )), respectively. Compound 4 shows an unusual planarization of the initial Ni₂P₄-prism. All products were comprehensively characterized by crystallographic and spectroscopic methods.     

Ligand‐Based Control of Single‐Site vs. Multi‐Site Reactivity by a Trichromium Cluster

The trichromium cluster (^tbsL)Cr₃(thf) ([^tbsL]^6?=[1,3,5‐C₆H₉(NC₆H₄‐o‐NSi^tBuMe₂)₃]^6?) exhibits steric‐ and solvation‐controlled reactivity with organic azides to form three distinct products: reaction of (^tbsL)Cr₃(thf) with benzyl azide forms a symmetrized bridging imido complex (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³‐NBn); reaction with mesityl azide in benzene affords a terminally bound imido complex (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ¹‐NMes); whereas the reaction with mesityl azide in THF leads to terminal N‐atom excision from the azide to yield the nitride complex (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³‐N). The reactivity of this complex demonstrates the ability of the cluster‐templating ligand to produce a well‐defined polynuclear transition metal cluster that can access distinct single‐site and cooperative reactivity controlled by either substrate steric demands or reaction media.     

Interaction between hydrofluorosilicic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline: Hydrolytic stability of chelate complexes of silicon tetrafluoride with bidentate N-donors

Hexafluorosilicate (LH₂)SiF₆ and the cis-[SiF₄(L)] chelate complex characterized by ¹⁹F NMR are products of reaction between hydrofluorosilicic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline (L). XRD findings show that the structure of (LH₂)SiF₆ is stabilized by NH···F hydrogen bonds (N···F 2.618(4), 2.676(4) Å) and CH···F contacts. The relative resistance of the cis-[SiF₄(L)] complex to hydrolysis is associated with the chelate effect.     

Coligand role in the NHC nickel catalyzed C–F bond activation: investigations on the insertion of bis(NHC) nickel into the C–F bond of hexafluorobenzene

The reaction of [Ni(Mes₂Im)₂] (1) (Mes₂Im = 1,3-dimesityl-imidazolin-2-ylidene) with polyfluorinated arenes as well as mechanistic investigations concerning the insertion of 1 and [Ni(ⁱPr₂Im)₂] (1ipr) (ⁱPr₂Im = 1,3-diisopropyl-imidazolin-2-ylidene) into the C–F bond of C₆F₆ is reported. The reaction of 1 with different fluoroaromatics leads to formation of the nickel fluoroaryl fluoride complexes trans-[Ni(Mes₂Im)₂(F)(Ar^F)] (Ar^F = 4-CF₃-C₆F₄2, C₆F₅3, 2,3,5,6-C₆F₄N 4, 2,3,5,6-C₆F₄H 5, 2,3,5-C₆F₃H₂6, 3,5-C₆F₂H₃7) in fair to good yields with the exception of the formation of the pentafluorophenyl complex 3 (less than 20%). Radical species and other diamagnetic side products were detected for the reaction of 1 with C₆F₆, in line with a radical pathway for the C–F bond activation step using 1. The difluoride complex trans-[Ni(Mes₂Im)₂(F)₂] (9), the bis(aryl) complex trans-[Ni(Mes₂Im)₂(C₆F₅)₂] (15), the structurally characterized nickel(i) complex trans-[Ni^I(Mes₂Im)₂(C₆F₅)] (11) and the metal radical trans-[Ni^I(Mes₂Im)₂(F)] (12) were identified. Complex 11, and related [Ni^I(Mes₂Im)₂(2,3,5,6-C₆F₄H)] (13) and [Ni^I(Mes₂Im)₂(2,3,5-C₆F₃H₂)] (14), were synthesized independently by reaction of trans-[Ni(Mes₂Im)₂(F)(Ar^F)] with PhSiH₃. Simple electron transfer from 1 to C₆F₆ was excluded, as the redox potentials of the reaction partners do not match and [Ni(Mes₂Im)₂]⁺, which was prepared independently, was not detected. DFT calculations were performed on the insertion of [Ni(ⁱPr₂Im)₂] (1ipr) and [Ni(Mes₂Im)₂] (1) into the C–F bond of C₆F₆. For 1ipr, concerted and NHC-assisted pathways were identified as having the lowest kinetic barriers, whereas for 1, a radical mechanism with fluoride abstraction and an NHC-assisted pathway are both associated with almost the same kinetic barrier.

A combined experimental and theoretical study on the mechanism of the C–F bond activation of C₆F₆ with [Ni(NHC)₂] is provided.     

Study by ESI‐FTICRMS and ESI‐FTICRMSn of zinc and cadmium thiophenolate complexes used as precursors for the synthesis of II–VI nanosemiconductors

[M₄(SC₆H₅)₁₀][(CH₃)N]₂, [M₁₀L₄(SC₆H₅)₁₆][(CH₃)N]₄ and [Cd₁₇S₄(SC₆H₅)₂₈][(CH₃)N]₂(M = Cd or Zn, and L = S or Se) zinc and cadmium thiophenolates have been studied by electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry (ESI‐FTICRMS) and tandem ESI‐FTICRMS (ESI‐FTICRMSⁿ). ESI‐FTICRMS demonstrated its ability to characterize and study such compounds, which may be used as precursors of II–VI nanomaterials. The obtained mass spectrum has been found to be highly relevant of the investigated thiophenolate and the fragmentation behavior of some of the detected ions is indicative of its stability. More specifically, it has been demonstrated that ESI in‐source activation or fragmentation experiments conducted in the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS) cell induced the formation of a very stable entity, which corresponds to the general formula M₄L₄ (M = Zn or Cd and L = S or Se). The elimination of SC₆H₅^? and/or M(SC₆H₅)₂ moieties by various activation processes from the studied thiophenolates led systematically to this structure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hole and Electron Doping of the 4d Transition‐Metal Oxyhydride LaSr3NiRuO4H4

Hole or electron doping of phases prepared by topochemical reactions (e.g. anion deintercalation or anion‐exchange) is extremely challenging as these low‐temperature conversion reactions are typically very sensitive to the electron counts of precursor phases. Herein we report the successful hole and electron doping of the transition‐metal oxyhydride LaSr₃NiRuO₄H₄ by first preparing precursors in the range La_xSr_4?xNiRuO₈ 0.5<x<1.4 and then converting into the corresponding La_xSr_4?xNiRuO₄H₄ phases. This is particularly noteworthy as the (Ni/Ru)H₂ sheets in the La_xSr_4?xNiRuO₄H₄ phases are structurally analogous to the CuO₂ sheets in cuprate superconductors and hole doping (Ni^1+/2+, Ru²⁺) or electron doping (Ni²⁺, Ru^1+/2+) yields materials with partial occupancy in Ni/Ru –H 1s bands which are analogous to the partially occupied Cu –O 2p bands present in the CuO₂ sheets of doped superconducting cuprates.     

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Lanthanide Amides Stabilized by an N-Aryloxo Functionalized β-Ketoiminate Ligand

The synthesis and characterization of dimeric lanthanide amides stabilized by a dianionic N‐aryloxo functionalized β‐ketoiminate ligand are described in this paper. Reactions of 4‐(2‐hydroxy‐5‐tert‐butyl‐phenyl)imino‐2‐pentanone (LH₂) with Ln[N(SiMe₃)₂]₃(µ‐Cl)Li(THF)₃ in a 1:1 molar ratio in THF gave the dimeric lanthanide amido complexes [LLn{N(SiMe₃)₂}(THF)]₂ [Ln=Nd ( 1 ), Sm ( 2 ), Yb ( 3 ), Y ( 4 )] in good isolated yields. These complexes were characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy in the case of complex 4 . The definitive molecular structures of complexes 1 , 3 , and 4 were determined. It was found that complexes 1 to 4 can initiate the ring‐opening polymerization of L‐lactide.     

Synthesis,characterization and C–H amination reactivity of nickel iminyl complexes

Metalation of the deprotonated dipyrrin (^AdFL)Li with NiCl₂(py)₂ afforded the divalent Ni product (^AdFL)NiCl(py)₂ (1) (^AdFL: 1,9-di(1-adamantyl)-5-perfluorophenyldipyrrin; py: pyridine). To generate a reactive synthon on which to explore oxidative group transfer, we used potassium graphite to reduce 1, affording the monovalent Ni synthon (^AdFL)Ni(py) (2) and concomitant production of a stoichiometric equivalent of KCl and pyridine. Slow addition of mesityl- or 1-adamantylazide in benzene to 2 afforded the oxidized Ni complexes (^AdFL)Ni(NMes) (3) and (^AdFL)Ni(NAd) (4), respectively. Both 3 and 4 were characterized by multinuclear NMR, EPR, magnetometry, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, theoretical calculations, and X-ray absorption spectroscopies to provide a detailed electronic structure picture of the nitrenoid adducts. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) on the Ni reveals higher energy Ni 1s → 3d transitions (3: 8333.2 eV; 4: 8333.4 eV) than Ni^I or unambiguous Ni^II analogues. N K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy performed on 3 and 4 reveals a common low-energy absorption present only for 3 and 4 (395.4 eV) that was assigned via TDDFT as an N 1s promotion into a predominantly N-localized, singly occupied orbital, akin to metal-supported iminyl complexes reported for iron. On the continuum of imido (i.e., NR²⁻) to iminyl (i.e., ²NR⁻) formulations, the complexes are best described as Ni^II-bound iminyl species given the N K-edge and TDDFT results. Given the open-shell configuration (S = 1/2) of the iminyl adducts, we then examined their propensity to undergo nitrenoid-group transfer to organic substrates. The adamantyl complex 4 readily consumes 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD) via H-atom abstraction to afford the amide (^AdFL)Ni(NHAd) (5), whereas no reaction was observed upon treatment of the mesityl variant 3 with excess amount of CHD over 3 hours. Toluene can be functionalized by 4 at room temperature, exclusively affording the N-1-adamantyl-benzylidene (6). Slow addition of the organoazide substrate (4-azidobutyl)benzene (7) with 2 exclusively forms 4-phenylbutanenitrile (8) as opposed to an intramolecular cyclized pyrrolidine, resulting from facile β-H elimination outcompeting H-atom abstraction from the benzylic position, followed by rapid H₂-elimination from the intermediate Ni hydride ketimide intermediate.

Nickel-supported nitrenoids exhibit iminyl character, as determined by multi-edge XAS and TDDFT analysis, demonstrate efficacy for C–H activation and nitrene transfer chemistry.     

Effects of different oxygen-containing anions on the structure of water clusters

Using Ni(Im)₆²⁺ (Im = imidazole) as the structural unit, the effects of oxygen-containing anions, such as SO₄^2-, NO₃^? and CO₃^2- on the structure of water clusters were studied. The crystal structures of three compounds [Ni(Im)₆][SO₄(H₂O)₁₁] (1), [Ni(Im)₆][(NO₃)Cl(H₂O)₄] (2), and [Ni(Im)₆][CO₃(H₂O)₅] (3) were obtained. Using Mercury-3.8 software to analyze the above three crystal structures, find different anion of water clusters had a significant effect on the supramolecular structure. At the same time, it also significantly influences the number of water molecules in the crystal structure.     

Rational design of zinc-organic coordination polymers directed by N-donor co-ligands

A family of Zn^II‐based metal–organic coordination polymers (MOCPs) [Zn(L)(imid)₂] ( 1 ), [Zn(L)(2,2′‐bpy)] ( 2 ), [Zn₂(L)₂(Py)₃] ( 3 ), [Zn(L)(DPP)]?DMF ( 4 ), [Zn(L)(DPEA)] ( 5 ), [Zn₂(L)₂(4,4′‐bpy)] ( 6 ), [Zn(L)(3,4′‐DPEE)]?DMF ( 7 ), and [Zn₃(L)₃(3,4′‐DPEE)₂]?DMF ( 8 ) (L=dithieno[3,2‐b:2′,3′‐e]benzene‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid, imid=imidazole, bpy=bipyridine, Py=pyridine, DPP=1,3‐di(pyridin‐4‐yl)propane, DPEA=1,2‐di(pyridin‐4‐yl)ethane, and DPEE=(E)‐3,4′‐(ethene‐1,2‐diyl)dipyridine) have been rationally designed and generated in the solvothermal reaction systems of the new conjugated thiophene derivative L, Zn(ClO₄)₂?6 H₂O, and seven different aromatic N‐donor co‐ligands separately. These N‐donor compounds were carefully selected and employed in the crystal preparation of the eight MOCPs as structure‐directing co‐ligands owing to their structural specialties and habitual coordination fashions. Among these MOCPs, compounds 1 – 3 are 1D polymers with different chain structures. Compounds 4 , 7 , and 8 are 2D structures, in which 4 has two sets of twofold interpenetrating layers, whereas 7 and 8 are both built from three independent sheets. Compounds 5 and 6 are 3D frameworks, in which 5 exhibits a fivefold interpenetrating diamondoid network, whereas 6 shows a typical twofold interpenetrating pillared layer structure with nanoscale channels. The photoluminescent properties of these MOCPs, including excitation, emission, and radiactive lifetime, have also been investigated to help us tentatively understand their structure–property relationships.     

Complexes Featuring a cis-[M U M] Core (M=Rh,Ir): A New Route to Uranium-Metal Multiple Bonds

Although examples of multiple bonds between actinide elements and main-group elements are quite common, studies of the multiple bonds between actinide elements and transition metals are extremely rare owing to difficulties associated with their synthesis. Here we report the first example of molecular uranium complexes featuring a cis-[M U M] core (M=Rh, Ir), which exhibits an unprecedented arrangement of two M U double dative bond linkages to a single U center. These complexes were prepared by the reactions of chlorine-bridged heterometallic complexes [{U{N(CH₃)(CH₂CH₂NPⁱPr₂)₂}(Cl)₂[(μ-Cl)M(COD)]₂}] (M=Rh, Ir) with MeMgBr or MeLi, a new method for the construction of species with U−M multiple bonds. Theoretical calculations including dispersion confirmed the presence of two U M double dative bonds in these complexes. This study not only enriches the U M multiple bond chemistry, but also provides a new opportunity to explore the bonding of actinide elements.     

The ligating behaviour of 3-hydroxyimino-2-butanone-1-benzoylhydrazone towards NiII and CuII ions

Summary The ligating behaviour of the normally tridentate but potentially tetradentate ligand 3-hydroxyimino-2-butanone-1-benzoylhydrazone (LH₂) towards Cu^II and Ni^II ions has been investigated. The ligand reacts in either its keto or enol form, depending on the pH of the reaction medium. Metal complexes of the type [Cu(LH₂)]X₂ · H₂O (X = Cl, NO₃ or ClO₄), [Ni(LH₂)₂]X₂ · 2H₂O (X = Cl, Br, NO₃ and ClO₄), Cu(L) and Ni(L) have been isolated and characterised by spectral (u.v-vis., i.r. and e.p.r.) and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Location of the bonding sites and the probable structures of the complexes has also been discussed. The reactions of Cu(L) and Ni(L) with pyridine have also been examined.     

Metal Complexes with Macrocyclic Ligands. Part XXXIX. Mono- and binuclear copper(II) complexes of a bridging bis[1, 4, 7-triazacyclononane]

The new bis-macrocycle 1, 1′-[(1H-pyrazol-3], 5-diyl)bis(methylene)bis[1, 4, 7-triazacyclononane] ( 1 ) was synthesized and its complexation with Cu²⁺ studied. Potentiometric and spectrophotometric titrations indicate that, in addition to the mononuclear species [Cu(LH₂)]⁴⁺, [Cu(LH)]³⁺, [CuL]²⁺, and [Cu(LH_?1)]⁺, binuclear complexes such as [Cu₂L]⁴⁺, [Cu₂(LH_?1)]³⁺, and [Cu₂(LH_-2)]²⁺ are also formed in solution. The stability constants and spectral properties of these are reported. The binuclear species [Cu₂(LH_?1)]³⁺ specifically reacts with an azide ion to give a ternary complex [Cu₂(LH_?1)(N₃)]²⁺, the stability and structure of which were determined spectrophotometrically and by X-ray diffraction, respectively. The two Cu²⁺ ions are in a square-pyramidal coordination geometry. The axial ligand is one of the N-atoms of the 1, 4, 7-triazacyclononane ring, whereas at the base of the square pyramid, one finds the other two N-atoms of the macrocycle, one N-atom of the pyrazolide and one of the azide, both of which are bridging the two metal centres. In [Cu₂(LH_?1)(N₃)]²⁺, a strong antiferromagnetic coupling is present, thus resulting in a species with a low magnetic moment of 1.36 B.M. at room temperature.     

Probing the Metal Composition of Ternary 12–12′‐16 Nanoclusters via Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The reaction of [(3,5‐Me₂–C₅H₃N)₂Zn(SeSiMe₃)₂] with a solution of Cd(OAc)₂, Se(Ph)SiMe₃ and PPr₃ at low temperature was used to prepare single crystals of ternary group 12–12′‐16 nanoclusters with the composition [Zn_1.8Cd_8.2Se₄(SePh)₁₂(PPr₃)₄]. A ligand exchange reaction using Na[SePh] was performed to displace the neutral PPr₃ ligands. The resulting clusters were probed using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to determine the number of zinc and cadmium atoms in the cluster and compared to the all cadmium cluster [Cd₁₀Se₄(SePh)₁₂(PPr₃)₄]. The dianionic clusters [Zn_xCd_10–xSe₄(SePh)₁₄]^2– where x = 0, 1, 2 were assigned in the mass spectra, revealing that the clusters exhibit elemental distributions that are quite narrow in these experiments.     

The synthesis,characterization and spectral studies of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes with N,N-bis(2-{[(2-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl) methyl]amino}butyl) N′,N′-dihydroxyethanediimidamide

Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II, Zn^II and Cd^II complexes of N,N-bis(2-{[(2-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methyl]amino}butyl)N′,N′-dihydroxyethanediimidamide (LH₂) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectra, electronic spectra, magnetic susceptibility measurements, conductivity measurements and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The Co^II, Ni^II and Cu^II complexes of LH₂ were synthesized with 1?:?2 metal ligand stoichiometry. Zn^II and Cd^II complexes with LH₂ have a metal ligand ratio of 1?:?1. The reaction of LH₂ with Co^II, Ni^II, Cu^II, Zn^II and Cd^II chloride give complexes Ni(LH)₂, Cu(LH)₂, Zn(LH₂)(Cl)₂, Cd(LH₂)(Cl)₂, respectively.     

Dinuclear Zn<Superscript>2+</Superscript> metal complexes based on 1,10-phenanthroline derivates as catalysts for the hydrolysis of 2-hydroxypropyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNP) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-nitrophenyl phosphate (NPP)

One multidentate ligand, 1,13-di-(1,10-phenanthroline-2-methylene)-1,4,7,10,13-pentaazatridecane(L), has been synthesized and characterized. The kinetics of hydrolysis of 2-hydroxypropyl-p-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNP) and p-nitrophenyl phosphate (NPP) catalyzed by complexes of L with Zn²⁺ have been studied. Both Zn₂L and Zn₂LH₋₁ had the ability to catalysis a hydrolysis of HPNP and NPP, and the kinetics of hydrolysis of HPNP and NPP were examined in aqueous solution at 25.0 ± 0.1 °C, I = 0.1 mol dm⁻³ KNO₃ at the pH range of 7.0–8.5, respectively. Kinetic studies showed that Zn₂LH₋₁ was a more active species than Zn₂L in the hydrolysis of HPNP and NPP. A new mechanism was proposed for the hydrolysis of HPNP and NPP catalyzed by Zn₂L and Zn₂LH₋₁.     

Square Planar Nickel（II） Complexes with Halogenated o-Diiminobenzosemiquinonato Ligation： Synthesis,Characterization, and Redox Property

Seven square planar bis（o-diiminobenzosemiquinonato）nickel（II） complexes, [Ni（o-C6H4（NH）（NAr））2] （Ar= Mes, 1; p-F-C6H4, 2; p-CI-C6H4, 3）, [Ni（o-4,5-F2-C6H2（NH）（NPh））2] （4）, and [Ni（o-4,5-CIz-C6H2（NH）（NAr））2] （Ar =Ph, 5; 2,6-F2-C6H3, 6; 2,6-C12-C6H3, 7）, have been synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 19F NMR, IR, UV-Vis-NIR, elemental analyses, HRMS, as well as single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies （1 and 7）. The cyclic voltammograms of these complexes exhibit two reversible redox processes of [NiLe]0n- and [NIL2]l /2 , and one irreversible process of [NiL2]~n＋. Substituent effects on the redox properties of these complexes, in addi- tion with those of the known complexes [Ni（o-C6Ha（NH）（NPh））2] （8） and [Ni（o-3,5-Butz-C6Hz（NH）2）2] （9）, are identified by comparing the half-wave potentials of the reduction waves, as 1 ~ 9 〈 8 ~ 2 〈 3 〈 4 〈 5 〈 7 〈 6, reflect- ing the ease of reduction of [NIL2] parallels the electron-donating and -withdrawing ability of the substituent group. Reduction of 1 with one or two equivalents of sodium metal in THF has led to the isolation of [Na（THF）3][I] and [Na（THF）3]2[1]. The structure data of these two complexes revealed by low-temperature X-ray crystallography suggest their corresponding electronic structures of [Nill（lL-1 ）（IL2-）]1- and [Ni1]（1L2 ）212-, which are in line with those of [9]n （n = 1-, 2-） suggested by spectroelectrochemical study.     

Revealing redox isomerism in trichromium imides by anomalous diffraction

In polynuclear biological active sites, multiple electrons are needed for turnover, and the distribution of these electrons among the metal sites is affected by the structure of the active site. However, the study of the interplay between structure and redox distribution is difficult not only in biological systems but also in synthetic polynuclear clusters since most redox changes produce only one thermodynamically stable product. Here, the unusual chemistry of a sterically hindered trichromium complex allowed us to probe the relationship between structural and redox isomerism. Two structurally isomeric trichromium imides were isolated: asymmetric terminal imide (^tbsL)Cr₃(NDipp) and symmetric, μ³-bridging imide (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³–NBn) ((^tbsL)⁶⁻ = (1,3,5-C₆H₉(NC₆H₄-o-NSi^tBuMe₂)₃)⁶⁻). Along with the homovalent isocyanide adduct (^tbsL)Cr₃(CNBn) and the bisimide (^tbsL)Cr₃(μ³–NPh)(NPh), both imide isomers were examined by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) to determine the redox load distribution by the free refinement of atomic scattering factors. Despite their compositional similarities, the bridging imide shows uniform oxidation of all three Cr sites while the terminal imide shows oxidation at only two Cr sites. Further oxidation from the bridging imide to the bisimide is only borne at the Cr site bound to the second, terminal imido fragment. Thus, depending on the structural motifs present in each [Cr₃] complex, MAD revealed complete localization of oxidation, partial localization, and complete delocalization, all supported by the same hexadentate ligand scaffold.

Application of high-resolution Multiwavelength Anomalous Diffraction (MAD) allows the assignment of localized, partly delocalized, and fully delocalized oxidation in a series of trichromium imide isomers.     

Coordination Chemistry of Acrylamide 4. Crystal Structures and IR Spectroscopic Properties of Acrylamide Complexes with CoII,NiII, and ZnII nitrates

Acrylamide complexes of metal nitrates: [M(O‐OC(NH₂)CHCH₂)_n(H₂O)_m][NO₃]₂ (M = Co( 1 ), Ni( 2 ) (n = 6 and m = 0) and Zn( 3 ) (n = 4 and m = 2)) have been determined by using single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. All complexes crystallize in the triclinic space group . The structures of 1 and 2 represent octahedral species [M(AAm)₆]²⁺ (AAm = O‐OC(NH₂)CHCH₂ and M = Co or Ni) and uncoordinated nitrate ions. The structure of 3 involves the octahedral cation [Zn(AAm)₄(H₂O)₂]²⁺ in which the Zn²⁺ environment includes oxygen atoms of four acrylamide and two water molecules that are stabilized using ionic nitrate ions. The observations of the solid‐state IR spectroscopic vibrational frequencies of these acrylamide complexes are in agreement with the crystal structures.     

Gold(II) Porphyrins in Photoinduced Electron Transfer Reactions

In the context of solar-to-chemical energy conversion, inspired by natural photosynthesis, the synthesis, electrochemical properties and photoinduced electron-transfer processes of three novel zinc(II)-gold(III) bis(porphyrin) dyads [Zn^II(P)–Au^III(P)]⁺ are presented (P: tetraaryl porphyrin). Time-resolved spectroscopic studies indicated ultrafast dynamics (k >10¹⁰ s⁻¹) after visible-light excitation, which finally yielded a charge-shifted state [Zn^II(P ^{⋅ +})–Au^II(P)]⁺ featuring a gold(II) center. The lifetime of this excited state is quite long due to a comparably slow charge recombination (k ≈3×10⁸ s⁻¹). The [Zn^II(P ^{⋅ +})–Au^II(P)]⁺ charge-shifted state is reductively quenched by amines in bimolecular reactions, yielding the neutral zinc(II)–gold(II) bis(porphyrin) Zn^II(P)–Au^II(P). The electronic nature of this key gold(II) intermediate, prepared by chemical or photochemical reduction, is elucidated by UV/Vis, X-band EPR, gold L₃-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and paramagnetic ¹H NMR spectroscopy as well as by quantum chemical calculations. Finally, the gold(II) site in Zn^II(P)–Au^II(P) is thermodynamically and kinetically competent to reduce an aryl azide to the corresponding aryl amine, paving the way to catalytic applications of gold(III) porphyrins in photoredox catalysis involving the gold(III/II) redox couple.