Complexes of 4- and 5-bromo derivatives of 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine with copper(II) and cobalt(II) salts. Synthesis and X-ray crystal structures

Four copper(II) complexes (1–4) and a cobalt(II) complex (5) derived from 4-bromo-2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine (L¹) or 5-bromo-2-hydroxymethyl)pyridine (L²) with Cu(NO₃)₂·3H₂O, CuCl₂·2H₂O and CoCl₂·6H₂O have been synthesized and their respective crystal structures studied. They show specific influences owing to the different kind of metal cations and counter anions, the hydration as well as the different position of the bromine substitution on both the coordination of the complex unit and the network structure of the crystal lattice. The Cu(II) complexes of L¹ are five-coordinate [Cu(L¹)₂NO₃]NO₃·H₂O (1) and [Cu(L¹)₂Cl]Cl·H₂O (2) species with distorted quadratic pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometries of the N₂O₃ and N₂O₂Cl donor atoms around the Cu(II), respectively. The Cu(II) complexes of L² are six-coordinate [Cu(L²)₂(NO₃)₂] (3) and [Cu(L²)₂Cl(H₂O)]Cl·H₂O (4) species with distorted octahedral coordination geometries of the N₄O₂ and N₂O₃Cl donor atoms. A distorted octahedral coordination geometry of the N₂O₂Cl₂ donor atoms is also found in the complex unit [Co(L²)₂Cl₂] of the Co(II) complex 5 but showing the oxygen atoms of the chelating ligand as well as the chloride ions in a cis-position. Depending on the complex, water molecules and chloride anions are shown to act as stabilizing components of the crystal structure. The comparative structural investigation includes also known structures of the bromine-free ligand analogue 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine, illustrating the basic implication of the bromine substitution, mostly perceptible in the different modes of crystal packing.     

Towards catenanes using π-stacking interactions and their influence on the spin-state of a bis(2,2':6',2"terpyridine)iron(II) domain

The ligand 6,6"bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2"terpyridine (2) has been prepared and characterized; deprotection using pyridinium chloride leads to the formation of 6,6"bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2"terpyridinium chloride ([H3]Cl). Treatment of the latter with 3-(2-(2-bromoethoxy)ethoxy)prop-1-ene under basic conditions yields ligand 4 containing pendant, alkene-terminated chains. Whereas direct complexation of 4 with ruthenium(II) proved problematical, the homoleptic complexes [Fe(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) and [Ru(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) were prepared in good to moderate yields. In the solid state, both complexes exhibit multiple face-to-face π-stacking of arene and pyridine rings which influences the coordination geometry about the metal ion. Consequential weakening of the ligand field results in [Fe(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) being high-spin. Variable temperature solution (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies confirm the iron(ii) centre remains high-spin between 200 and 295 K. The paramagnetically shifted (1)H NMR spectrum exhibits signals in the range δ 109.7 to -66.5 ppm and has been fully assigned. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) has been used to correlate the observed proton line-widths to the distances of the protons from the metal centre and these are in good agreement with the Fe···H separations observed in the solid state. The [Fe(2)(2)](2+) ion undergoes two dynamic processes (i) rotation of the pendant phenyl rings which is fast on the NMR timescale at 200 K, and (ii) twisting and sliding of the aromatic rings of the tpy and anisyl units which interconverts the two enantiomers of [Fe(2)(2)](2+) at 295 K.     

Metalated aziridines for cross-coupling with aryl and alkenyl halides via palladium catalysis

The palladium-catalyzed coupling of an aziridinylzinc chloride intermediate with alkenyl and aryl halides has been demonstrated. The method provides products with retention of aziridine stereochemistry. The utility of the coupling procedure is illustrated in the synthesis of structures related to l-furanomycin.     

CAN-mediated oxidations for the synthesis of xanthones and related products

Reaction of (2,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)(2-hydroxyphenyl)methanone with ceric ammonium nitrate furnished the xanthone, 2,3-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one. Under the same conditions the related (1,4-dimethoxynaphthalen-2-yl)(2-hydroxyphenyl)methanone resulted in the formation of 12a-methoxy-5H-benzo[c]xanthenes 5,7(12aH)-dione. Other examples of this novel transformation are also outlined.     

Impact of geometry on the TM photonic band gaps of photonic crystals and quasicrystals

Here we demonstrate a novel quantitative procedure to pursue statistical studies on the geometric properties of photonic crystals and photonic quasicrystals (PQCs) which consist of separate dielectric particles. The geometric properties are quantified and correlated to the size of the photonic band gap (PBG) for wide permittivity range using three characteristic parameters: shape anisotropy, size distribution, and feature-feature distribution. Our concept brings statistical analysis to the photonic crystal research and offers the possibility to predict the PBG from a morphological analysis.     

Dissipative soliton resonance in a passively mode-locked fiber laser

The phenomenon of dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) predicts that an increase of pulse energy by orders of magnitude can be obtained in laser oscillators. Here, we prove that DSR is achievable in a realistic ring laser cavity using nonlinear polarization evolution as the mode-locking mechanism, whose nonlinear transmission function is adjusted through a set of waveplates and a passive polarizer. The governing model accounts explicitly for the arbitrary orientations of the waveplates and the polarizer, as well as the gain saturation in the amplifying medium. It is shown that DSR is achievable with realistic laser settings. Our findings provide an excellent design tool for optimizing the mode-locking performance and the enhancement of energy delivered per pulse by orders of magnitude.     

Brownian motion on the Sierpinski gasket

Summary We construct a Brownian motion taking values in the Sierpinski gasket, a fractal subset of ², and study its properties. This is a diffusion process characterized by local isotropy and homogeneity properties. We show, for example, that the process has a continuous symmetric transition density, p _t(x,y), with respect to an appropriate Hausdorff measure and obtain estimates on p _t(x,y).Research partially supported by an NSERC of Canada operating grantResearch partially supported by an SERC (UK) Visiting Fellowship