Estimate of the stability constants of trivalent actinide and lanthanide complexes with O-donor ligands in aqueous solutions

The stability constants of the 1: 1 complexes of trivalent actinide and lanthanide cations with O-donor ligands (OH⁻, CO₃²⁻; carboxylate anions: acetate, propionate, isobutyrate, benzoate) formed in aqueous solutions have been approximately calculated by integrating the ligand density distribution function. The contributions of the covalent interaction to the formation of coordination bonds of these cations with O-donor ligands have been estimated.     

Metal-Boron Compounds – Problems and Perspectives

“True” metal-boron compounds have been known for about ten years. The bonding between the metal and boron atoms can vary widely in nature: Not only simple covalent bonds are encountered but also coordinate bonds and boron-metal multicenter bonds. Furthermore, π complexes of transition metals with boron-nitrogen systems and metal complexes containing boron(I) compounds as ligands have recently also been prepared.     

Si?H and C?H Activation by Transition Metal Complexes: A Step Towards Isolable Alkane Complexes?

The recognition of the fundamental contributions by G. A. Olah on the elucidation of the structure of nonclassical carbocations, in the form of the award of the Nobel prize for chemistry, has recently emphasized the importance of electron-deficient bonds in the understanding of chemical bonding in organic chemistry. In the field of coordination chemistry, the formulation of electron-deficient bonds has been used for some time to describe nonclassical interactions between atoms. Traditional ligands in coordination chemistry such as amines and phosphanes bond to metal centers through their lone pair of electrons. Synergistic bonding effects dominate in the coordination of π-bonded ligands such as alkenes. In the mid-1980s the discovery of dihydrogen complexes having side-on coordination of H₂ gave fresh impetus to transition metal chemistry as well as to the understanding of the interaction of σ-coordinating ligands with transition metals. In the meantime, transiton metal complexes can be obtained with a variety of σ-coordinated X-H fragments, and their mode of bonding can be understood by a common and quite general model. The chemistry of σ-bound silane ligands is particularly varied and well-investigated. These silane ligands enable the investigation of a large range of σ-coordinated metal complex fragments up to complete oxidative addition with cleavage of the Si? H bond and formation of silyl(hydrido) complexes, which has thus also widened our general understanding of the bonding of other σ-bound ligands. Whilst there is a large range of isolable and stable H₂ and SiR₄ complexes available, there are no such alkane analogues known at present. Only when the C? H bond is part of a ligand that is already directly bonded to the transition metal center will the resulting chelate effect stabilize this agostic C-H-M interaction. The complexation of SiH₄, the simplest heavier homologue of CH₄, was achieved recently. This is a further step towards the understanding of the factors which govern σ-complexation of ligands at transition metal centers.     

CRYPTATES XIX. Ligands polyaza-polyoxa-macrobicycliques: Synthèse et complexes métalliques

Polyaza-polyoxa macrobicyclic ligands: its synthesis and metal complexes. The synthesis of the polyaza-polyoxa macrobicyclic ligands 1–4 is described. They form complexes with a variety of metal cations, transition metal cations as well as alkali and alkaline-earth cations. These complexes may be formulated as cation inclusion complexes, cryptates, in which the cation is contained in the intramolecular cavity. The properties of the complexes are described. An especially interesting feature is that these ligands, polymines of macrobicyclic topology, provide a means of trapping transition metal cations inside a molecular cavity; thus they impose coordination geometries and may modify the spectral and redox properties of the cations.     

Dithiolene complexes containing N coordinating groups and corresponding tetrathiafulvalene donors

The chemistry of transition metal dithiolene complexes containing N coordinating groups and the corresponding TTF donors, is reviewed starting from the ligand synthesis to the coordination structures where these dithiolene complexes are used as bridging units. The dithiolene ligands containing N coordinating atoms present two coordination poles which can selectively bind different metals and act as bridging units in a variety of coordination architectures. The transition metal dithiolene complexes based on these N containing ligands and the corresponding TTF donors can be themselves regarded as ligands. These can be used to coordinate other metals, potentially leading to a diversity of hetero metallic coordination architectures. With the use of appropriate auxiliary ligands they can lead to discrete metal complexes. In addition they can lead to more extended polymeric structures of different dimensionality such as 1D chains, 2D layers or even 3D polymers can also be obtained.     

Formation of shortened partially multiple bonds of transition metals with carbenoid compounds of heavy <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> elements of groups III–VII as a reason for the occurrence of the HSAB principle

The universal character of the phenomenon of sharp (from 0.15 to 0.3 Å) shortening of formally ordinary bonds between transition metals (M) and heavy nontransition elements (Q) of Groups III–VII (Periods III–V) compared to the sum of covalent radii is shown for numerous examples of the complexes described in the literature or studied by the author and coworkers. In the most part of cases, this shortening occurs without an elongation of Q-X bonds in ligands and, hence, the main reason for M-Q bond shortening is considered to be an additional dative interaction of a lone electron pair at the M atom with vacant d orbitals of the indicated nontransition elements. The appeared partial multiplicity of formally ordinary M-Q bonds is assumed to be a physical basis for the preferential interaction of soft acids with soft bases in terms of the HSAB concept.     

Metal-assembled anion receptors

This review describes the self-assembly of anion receptors from organic ligands and transition metal ions. These metal-assembled anion receptors can be synthesised from a number of different species; bidentate ligands with metals that prefer octahedral coordination geometries and monodentate ligands with metals that prefer square planar geometries are common. Anion binding transition metal helicates and systems where the coordination of metal ions results in the formation of an anion receptor by conformational locking are also reported. The effect of anion binding on the different properties of these complexes is discussed.     

Homoleptic Metal Carbonyl Cations of the Electron-Rich Metals: Their Generation in Superacid Media Together with Their Spectroscopic and Structural Characterization

Homoleptic carbonyl cations of the electron-rich metals in Groups 8 through 12 are the newest members of the large family of transition metal carbonyls. They can be distinguished from typical metal carbonyl complexes in several respects. Their synthesis entails carbonylation of metal salts in such superacids as fluorosulfuric acid and “magic acid” HSO₃F? SbF₅. Thermally stable salts with [Sb₂F₁₁]^? as counterion are obtained with antimony pentafluoride as reaction medium. Both the [Sb₂F₁₁]^? anion and superacid reaction media have previously found little application in the organometallic chemistry of d-block elements. Also unprecedented in metal carbonyl chemistry are the coordination geometries with coordination numbers 4 (square-planar coordination) and 2 (linear coordination) for the cation. Formal oxidation states of the metals, and the charges of the complex cations, extend from + 1 to +3: thus CO is largely σ-bonded to the metal, and the CO bond is strongly polarized. Minimal metal → CO π-backbonding and a positive partial charge on carbon are manifested in long M? C bonds, short C? O bonds, high frequencies for C? O stretching vibrations (up to 2300 cm^?1), and small ¹³C NMR chemical shifts (up to δ_c, = 121). Prominent examples of these unusual homoleptic carbonyl cations, which were recently the subject of a Highlight in this journal, include the first carbonyl cation of a p-block metal [Hg(CO)₂]²⁺, the first trivalent carbonyl cation [Ir(CO)₆]³⁺, and the first multiply charged carbonyl cation of a 3d metal [Fe(CO)₆]²⁺. In this overview we propose to (a) outline the historical origins of cationic metal carbonyls and their methods of synthesis; (b) present a summary of the general field of carbonyl cations, which has developed over a yery short period of time; (c) discuss the structural and spectroscopic characteritics of metal–CO bonding; (d) discuss the special significance associated with reaction media and the [Sb₂F₁₁]^? anion; and (e) point to the most recent results and anticipated future developments.     

An extensible and systematic force field,ESFF, for molecular modeling of organic,inorganic, and organometallic systems

ESFF is a rule-based force field designed for modeling organic, inorganic, and organometallic systems. To cover this broad range of molecular systems, ESFF was developed in an extensible and systematic manner. Several unique features were introduced including pseudoangle and a dot product function representing torsion energy terms. The partial atomic charges that are topology-dependent are determined from ab initio (DFT) calculated electronegativity and hardness for valence orbitals. The van der Waals parameters are charge-dependent, and correlated with the ionization potential for atoms in various valence states. To obtain a set of well-defined and physically meaningful parameters, ESFF employs semiempirical rules to translate atomic-based parameters to parameters typically associated with a covalent valence force field. The atomic parameters depend not only on atom type, but also on internal type, thus resulting in a more accurate force field. This article presents the theory and the method used to develop the force field. The force field has been applied to molecular simulations of a wide variety of systems including nucleic acids, peptides, hydrocarbons, porphyrins, transition metal complexes, zeolites, and organometallic compounds. Agreement with the experimental results indicates that ESFF is a valuable tool in molecular simulations for understanding and predicting both crystal and gas phase molecular structures.     

Chiral organoselenium-transition-metal catalysts in asymmetric transformations

In recent years, there has been an increasing application of chiral selenium compounds as ligands in metal-catalyzed enantioselective transformations. One of the most important challenges in this field is the development of new chiral complexes (catalyst) generated from the reaction between a metal and appropriate chiral selenium-containing compounds (ligand). The vast majority of these ligands are easily synthesized in a few high-yielding synthetic steps, starting from readily available chiral amino alcohols. In this context, the advantages of using these compounds will be discussed, mainly with regard to their easy accessibility, modular nature and the formation of strong bonds with soft or, more rarely, hard metals. Important selective contributions within the field of chiral selenium complexes are examined, according to their applications. As final remarks, future developments and perspectives of the field are discussed.     

Classification and synthesis of nickel pincer complexes

Over the past decades, the pincer ligands have attracted an increasing interest due to the unique properties of the coordination compounds they form. These monoanionic tridentate ligands are of great importance in organometallic and coordination chemistry. Their complexes with transition metals are used as homogeneous catalysts for various processes and also as functional materials with specified properties. The metal complexes formed by the pincer ligands provide an efficient alternative to the existing catalysts based on noble metals and, hence, the use of these complexes is a promising task of the modern chemical science. Therefore, nickel as the most accessible and inexpensive analog of palladium and platinum is of great practical interest. In this review, we consider the diversity of nickel complexes with pincer ligands, as well as the existing methods for their preparation and practical application.     

Shape‐Persistent Organic Cage Compounds by Dynamic Covalent Bond Formation

One area of supramolecular chemistry involves the synthesis of discrete three‐dimensional molecules or supramolecular aggregates through the coordination of metals. This field also concerns the chemistry of supramolecular cage compounds constructed through the use of such coordination bonds. To date, there exists a broad variety of supramolecular cage compounds; however, analogous organic cage compounds formed with only covalent bonds are relatively rare. Recent progress in this field can be attributed to important advances, not least the application of dynamic covalent chemistry. This concept makes it possible to start from readily available precursors, and in general allows the synthesis of cage compounds in fewer steps and usually higher yields.     

Transition Metal Borate Complexes Containing κ0-κ6 Denticity of Scorpionate Borate Ligands

The recent developments in the field of transition metal (TM) borate complexes have been a landmark in modern coordination chemistry. The structural diversities of these complexes play an important role in several catalytic processes. Generally, polypyrazolyl borate ligands, [BH_n(pz)_4-n]⁻ (n=1, 2; pz=pyrazolyl), popularly known as scorpionates have been used extensively for the preparation of TM borate complexes. The presence of multiple donor atoms in the flexible borate proligands led to several coordination modes. Based on the electronic and steric properties of these ligands and the metals, the denticity of borate ligands in TM complexes varied from κ⁰ to κ⁶. The presence of different bonding modes of these borate ligands made them very interesting in main group organometallic chemistry. In addition, cooperative activation of boranes by TM complexes containing metal-nitrogen or metal-sulfur bonds has become an alternative to the utilization of borate proligands for the synthesis of TM borate complexes. This review summarizes the advancements of the chemistry of TM borate complexes focusing exclusively on the synthetic methods and various bonding scenarios.     

Optimization of a molecular mechanics force field for type-II polyoxometalates focussing on electrostatic interactions: a case study

In this study, we have focussed on type-II polyanions such as [M(7)O(24)](6-), and we have developed and validated optimized force fields that include electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. These contributions to the total steric energy are described by the nonbonded term, which encompasses all interactions between atoms that are not transmitted through the bonds. A first validation of a stochastic technique based on genetic algorithms was previously made for the optimization of force fields dedicated to type-I polyoxometalates. To describe the new nonbonded term added in the functional, a fixed-charged model was chosen. Therefore, one of the main issues was to analyze that which partial atomic charges could be reliably used to describe these interactions in such inorganic compounds. Based on several computational strategies, molecular mechanics (MM) force field parameters were optimized using different types of atomic charges. Moreover, the influence of the electrostatic and van der Waals buffering constants and 1,4-interactions scaling factors used in the force field were also tested, either being optimized as well or fixed with respect to the values of CHARMM force field. Results show that some atomic charges are not well adapted to CHARMM parameters and lead to unrealistic MM-optimized structures or a MM divergence. As a result, a new scaling factor has been optimized for Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules charges and charges derived from the electrostatic potential such as ChelpG. The force fields optimized can be mixed with the CHARMM force field, without changing it, to study for the first time hepta-anions interacting with organic molecules.     

A new approach to fabrication of a self-organizing film of heterostructured polymer/CdS nanoparticles

In this paper, we alternately deposit transition metal Cd²⁺ neutralized polyelectrolytes and ligands pyridine contained polymer via the formation of complexes, and by sequential reaction with H₂S gas, in situ fabricate CdS nanoparticles/polymer heterostructured film. The driving force for the construction of multilayered films is based on covalent coordination.     

Structural measures of element-oxygen bond covalency from the changes to the delocalisation of the carboxylate ligand

The data set of more than 40,000 crystal structures containing the carboxylate group that have been deposited in the CSD has been used to examine the structural changes that occur in the carboxylate C-O bond lengths upon binding to different elemental centres. We report here quantifiable structural changes that are dependent on the elemental centre with which the group is interacting. For the main-group elements the trends are entirely periodic and follow those traditionally associated with covalency; elements exhibiting electronegativity closest to that of oxygen exhibit the largest structural change. In addition, we find the measure is extendable to both the transition metals and the lanthanoids and actinoids. Amongst the transition metals the trends of Pauling neutrality are not only maintained, but are quantifiable. The difference between the two C-O bond lengths increases with oxidation state and decreases with an increase in coordination number. All of the lanthanoids exhibit covalency within error of each other and the bonds to the actinoids are found to be more covalent than those to the lanthanoids. From the data analysis we are able to derive a correlation between the lengths of the two carboxylate arms that allows us to quantify percentage covalent character defined in terms of the resonance contributions to the carboxylate group.     

The synthesis of novel Schiff base bis- and tris- crown ether ligands containing recognition sites for alkali and transition metal guest cations

New Schiff base bis- and tris-benzo crown ether ligands containing recognition sites for alkali and transition metal guest cations have been prepared. Preliminary coordination studies of these ligands with sodium and copper(I) guest cations have led to the successful isolation of mono- and heteropolymetallic complexes.     

Carboranyl C-σ-bonded and C-functionalized carboranes as ligands in gold and silver chemistry

This report summarizes gold and silver chemistry with C-functionalized carborane ligands and also organometallic complexes with Au-C_carboranyl σ bonds. The presence of different fragments bonded to the carbon atoms leads to ligands with different coordination preferences. Furthermore, through the partial degradation of the carborane cage the ligand charge can be modified and thus, anionic ligands are afforded. Consequently, for the synthesis of metal complexes, neutral and anionic ligands are available. These two aspects have been used to synthesise and stabilise a wide diversity of gold and silver coordination compounds. The use of carborane fragments as building blocks leads in some cases to unusual structures, clusters, rod like complexes and also to interesting properties like luminescent emissions.     

Spectral studies, cyclic voltammetry and synthesis of cobalt(II) and ruthenium(III) complexes with symmetric and asymmetric ring containing membered N2S2, N4, and N5 donor macrocyclic ligands

Reaction of divalent cobalt(II) and trivalent ruthenium(III) salts (NO3, SCN and SO4) with macrocyclic ligands L1, L2 and L3 having N2S2, N4 and N5 core, have been designed and carry out. All these three macrocyclic ligands and their complexes were obtained in pure form. Their structures were investigated by using microanalytical analyses, IR, mass, magnetic moments, electronic and EPR spectral studies. The redox properties of the complexes were also examined by cyclic voltammetry. An interesting feature of complexes is that the relatively large rings of macrocyclic ligands prevent the macrocyclic rings from approaching the metal center as closely as they would, if they were not constrained. So the Ru-N distances are longer than expected due to ring size. Electrochemical studies show that the macrocyclic ligand L1 is more effective electron donors to ruthenium than of L2 and L3. Electronic spectral properties also show that the sulphur donor atom of L1 weakens the ligand field with respect to ligand-to-metal charge-transfer band. However it is expected that second-row transition metal-ligand bonds tend to be weaker than third-row transition metal-ligand bonds. There are well-established examples of reactions in which decreased of reactivity down a triad of transition metals is not observed. These novelties are usually attributed to pi-bonding effects for ligands such as carbon monoxide, solvent effects, or a change in mechanism.     

Structure and properties of complex transition-metal (II) salts of ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer with 1,3-bis (aminomethyl) cyclohexane

Thermal properties by differential scanning calorimetry, stiffness, and melt flow rate (MFR) were measured for the complex transition-metal (Zn(II), Cu(II), Mn(II), and Co(II)) salts of ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer (EMAA) with 1,3-bis(aminomethyl)-cyclohexane (BAC). It was found that the strength of both ionic interactions of metal cations with carboxyl groups and coordination bonds of amino groups to metals differ among metal species. In particular, the complex Mn salts are weaker than the complex salts of the other transition metals, which corresponds with Irving-Williams series of stability constants of transition metal-ion complexes. Stiffness depends predominantly on the degree of crystallinity of ionic crystallites in ionic clusters, which depends on the ionic species.