Solid polymers doped with rare earth metal compounds. III. Formation and stability of macromolecular complexes comprising neodymium nitrate and dipivaloylmethane in poly(ethylene oxide)

The solubility, complexation, and morphology in the Nd(NO₃)₃-PEO and Nd(Dpm)₃-PEO systems were investigated using the FTIR, DSC, TGA, WAXD, and SAXS techniques. In both systems, dissolution was verified by the absence of features characteristic of the bulk-phase dopants detectable with WAXD and DSC, and complexation was evident from the FTIR spectral shifts involving the stretching motions of the EO unit. The extent of the Nd³⁺-EO interaction was found to be much stronger with Nd(NO₃)₃ than Nd(Dpm)₃. As a consequence, a T_g elevation from 222K in pure PEO to 335K at an EO/Nd³⁺ ratio (defined as n) of between 4.0 and 5.6 was observed in the Nd(NO₃)₃-PEO system. Moreover, completely dry and amorphous complexes were obtained at n ≥ 5.6, while residual moisture accompanying complexes at n ≤ 4 was found to persist upon prolonged vacuum drying. Being intrinsically hygroscopic at all doping levels, the Nd(NO₃)₃-PEO system was found to absorb moisture from the atmosphere resulting in wet amorphous complexes, although precipitation of Nd(NO₃)₃)·6H₂O was observed at n ≤ 4. It was proposed that moisture present in the Nd(NO₃)₃-PEO system be classified into two categories. One is tightly bound to Nd³⁺ to satisfy its coordination requirement, which was determined to be 11. The other is loosely bound, which is capable of being removed by heating and returning upon exposure to the atmosphere. It is the latter that can be readily quantified by the TGA technique and that lowers T_g via plasticization. In addition to the observed minor FTIR spectral shifts, a relatively weak Nd³⁺-EO interaction in the Nd(Dpm)₃-PEO system resulted in a lack of the T_g elevation for PEO, persistence of the crystalline portion of PEO at all doping levels, and the formation of new crystalline phases as revealed by the WAXD patterns and the DSC thermograms. The short-range order in PEO does not appear to be perturbed, but the SAXS data suggest that the long range-order is disrupted by the presence of Nd(Dpm)³ at an extremely low doping level (i.e., n ≥ 60). © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The photochemistry of (η-2-R-C3H4)Fe(CO)(NO)(X) (R = H or Cl; X = CO or PPh3) in room temperature solution or frozen gas matrixes

A photochemical study of allyl iron complexes of the type, (η³-2-R-C₃H₄)Fe(CO)(NO)(X) (R = H or Cl; X = CO or PPh₃) is presented. These compounds were studied in solid matrixes at 20 K, and at room temperature, by a combination of laser flash at 355 nm and steady-state photolysis. The predominant photochemical process for these compounds is loss of a CO ligand. In addition, exhaustive irradiation of (η³-2-R-C₃H₄)Fe(CO)(NO)(PPh₃) with λ_exc > 300 nm provided evidence for a haptotropic shift of the allyl group from η³ to η¹ coordination.     

Bis(pyrazolylethyl) Ether Ligation to Zinc and Cobalt: Meridional vs Facial Coordination and the Suitability of Such Ligands in Providing a NNO Donor Set for Modeling Bioinorganic Aspects of Zinc Chemistry

The structures of bis(pyrazolylethyl) ether derivatives of zinc and cobalt, namely [eta(3)-O(CH(2)CH(2)pz(Pr)()i()2)(2)]Zn(NO(3))(2) and [eta(3)-O(CH(2)CH(2)pz(Me)()2)(2)]Co(NO(3))(2), have been determined with a view to addressing the applicability of such ligands in modeling bioinorganic aspects of zinc chemistry. Specific consideration is given to the possibility that bis(pyrazolylethyl) ether ligands may provide an NNO donor system which may model aspects of the binding of zinc to protein backbones in enzymes such as thermolysin. The structural studies demonstrate that the bis(pyrazolylethyl) ether ligands do indeed coordinate via each of their NNO functionalities but that the relationship to the enzyme is limited by the adoption of meridional rather than facial coordination geometries. [eta(3)-O(CH(2)CH(2)pz(Pr)()i()2)(2)]Zn(NO(3))(2) is monoclinic, P2(1)/c (No. 14), with a = 11.619(2) ?, b = 14.380(3) ?, c = 16.757(2) ?, beta = 90.44(2) degrees, and Z = 4. [eta(3)-O(CH(2)CH(2)pz(Me)()2)(2)]Co(NO(3))(2) is monoclinic, C2/c (No. 15), with a = 17.136(3) ?, b = 10.505(2) ?, c = 11.121(2) ?, beta = 104.62(3) degrees, and Z = 4.     

Effect of oxidant type on the chemiluminescence intensity from the reaction of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) with various organic acids

An investigation into the chemiluminescence of fourteen organic acids and tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) was undertaken. Particular emphasis was placed upon the method of production of the reagent, tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III), with cerium(IV) sulfate, potassium permanganate, lead dioxide and electrochemical generation. Analytically useful chemiluminescence was observed when Ce(IV) or potassium permanganate were employed as oxidants. The kinetics of analyte oxidation was related to the intensity of the chemiluminescence emission, which increased by three orders of magnitude for tartaric acid after 40 h of oxidation.     

Comparison of homoleptic and heteroleptic 2,2′-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline ruthenium complexes as chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence reagents in aqueous solution

We have conducted a comprehensive comparative study of Ru(bipy)₃²⁺, Ru(bipy)₂(phen)²⁺, Ru(bipy)(phen)₂²⁺, and Ru(phen)₃²⁺ as chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) reagents, to address several previous conflicting observations and gain a greater insight into their potential for chemical analysis. Clear trends were observed in many of their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties, but the relative chemiluminescence or ECL intensity with a range of analytes/co-reactants is complicated by the contribution of numerous (sometimes opposing) factors. Significantly, the reversibility of cyclic voltammetric responses for the complexes decreased as the number of phenanthroline ligands was increased, due to the lower stability of their ruthenium(III) form in the aqueous solvent. This trend was also evident over a longer timescale when the ruthenium(III) form was spectrophotometrically monitored after chemical oxidation of the ruthenium(II) complexes. In general, the greater stability of Ru(bipy)₃³⁺ resulted in lower blank signals, although this effect was less pronounced with ECL, where the reagent is oxidised in the presence of the co-reactants. Nevertheless, this shows the need to compare signal-to-blank ratios or detection limits, rather than the more common comparisons of overall signal intensity for different ruthenium complexes. Furthermore, our results support previous observations that, compared to Ru(bipy)₃²⁺, Ru(phen)₃²⁺ provides greater ECL and chemiluminescence intensities with oxalate, which in some circumstances translates to superior detection limits, but they do not support the subsequent generalised notion that Ru(phen)₃²⁺ is a more sensitive reagent than Ru(bipy)₃²⁺ for all analytes.     

Bond‐Strengthening Backdonation in Aminoborylene‐Stabilized Aminoborylenes: At the Intersection of Borylenes and Diborenes

Singly NHC‐coordinated (aminoboryl)aminoborenium salts react with Na₂[Fe(CO)₄] to yield stable coordination complexes of aminoborylene‐stabilized aminoborylenes, which exhibit exceptional σ‐donor properties. Upon photolytic CO extrusion from the metal center, the diboron ligand adopts a novel η³‐BBN coordination mode, where bond‐strengthening backdonation from the metal center into the vacant B?B π‐orbital is observed. This bonding situation can be alternatively described as a Fe‐diaminodiborene complex. In a related reduction of CAAC‐stabilized (aminoboryl)aminoborenium with KC₈, the reduced species can be captured with nucleophiles to form three‐coordinate (diaminoboryl)borylenes, where both amino groups have migrated to the distal boron atom. Collectively, these reactions illustrate the isomeric flexibility imparted by amino groups on this reduced diboron system, thus opening multiple avenues of novel reactivity.     

Memory and Markov Blankets

In theoretical biology, we are often interested in random dynamical systems—like the brain—that appear to model their environments. This can be formalized by appealing to the existence of a (possibly non-equilibrium) steady state, whose density preserves a conditional independence between a biological entity and its surroundings. From this perspective, the conditioning set, or Markov blanket, induces a form of vicarious synchrony between creature and world—as if one were modelling the other. However, this results in an apparent paradox. If all conditional dependencies between a system and its surroundings depend upon the blanket, how do we account for the mnemonic capacity of living systems? It might appear that any shared dependence upon past blanket states violates the independence condition, as the variables on either side of the blanket now share information not available from the current blanket state. This paper aims to resolve this paradox, and to demonstrate that conditional independence does not preclude memory. Our argument rests upon drawing a distinction between the dependencies implied by a steady state density, and the density dynamics of the system conditioned upon its configuration at a previous time. The interesting question then becomes: What determines the length of time required for a stochastic system to ‘forget’ its initial conditions? We explore this question for an example system, whose steady state density possesses a Markov blanket, through simple numerical analyses. We conclude with a discussion of the relevance for memory in cognitive systems like us.     

Pentacarbonyl(di‐2‐pyridyl­amine)tungsten(0)

In the title molecular complex, (I), the W atom is in an octahedral environment with four equatorial carbonyl ligands and a fifth in an axial position trans to the monodentate dipyridyl­amine ligand. The long dimension of this last bisects the angle between two of the equatorial carbonyl groups and while the non‐bonded pyridyl N atom is directed away from the W atom, the bridging amine group is directed towards it. Thus, in addition to the N atom to which it is attached, the amino H has two nearest neighbour C atoms of equatorial carbonyl groups but does not participate in hydrogen bonding in any real or usual sense. The W—C bond distance for the axial carbonyl group is notably less than those of the equatorial groups.