Structures and magnetic properties of tetranuclear nickel(II) complexes with unusual mu3-1,1,3 azido bridges

Pyrazolate-based dinucleating ligands with thioether-containing chelate arms have been used for the synthesis of a family of novel tetranuclear nickel(II) complexes [L2Ni4(N3)3(O2CR)](ClO4)2 that incorporate three azido bridges and one carboxylate (R = Me, Ph). Molecular structures have been elucidated by X-ray crystallography in four cases, revealing Ni4 cores with a unique topology in which two of the azido ligands adopt an unusual mu3-1,1,3 bridging mode. The compounds were further characterized by mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. Magnetic data analyses indicate a combination of significant intramolecular ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions that give rise to an overall S(T) = 0 ground state. The sign and the magnitude of the individual couplings have been rationalized in the framework of the common magnetostructural correlations for end-to-end and end-on azido linkages, suggesting that these correlations also remain valid for the respective fragments of multiply bridging mu3-1,1,3 azido ligands.     

Secondary bonding interactions observed in two arsenic thiolate complexes

Treatment of N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,8-naphthalimide (HL) with stoichiometric amounts of AsCl(3) and base affords AsL(2)Cl and AsL(3) complexes stabilized in part by secondary As...O bonding interactions.     

Greenish‐yellow‐, yellow‐, and orange‐light‐emitting iridium(III) polypyridyl complexes with poly(ε‐caprolactone)–bipyridine macroligands

A set of novel greenish‐yellow‐, yellow‐, and orange‐light‐emitting polymeric iridium(III) complexes were synthesized with the bridge‐splitting method. The respective dimeric precursor complexes, [Ir(ppy)₂‐μ‐Cl]₂ (ppy = 2‐phenylpyridine) and [Ir(ppy? CHO)₂‐μ‐Cl]₂ [ppy? CHO = 4‐(2‐pyridyl)benzaldehyde], were coordinated to 2,2′‐bipyridine carrying poly(ε‐caprolactone) tails. The resulting emissive polymers were characterized with one‐dimensional (¹H) and two‐dimensional (¹H? ¹H correlation spectroscopy) nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry, and the successful coordination of the iridium(III) centers to the 2,2′‐bipyridine macroligand was revealed. The thermal behavior was studied with differential scanning calorimetry and correlated with atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, the quantitative coordination was verified by both the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the mononuclear iridium(III) compounds. The photoluminescence spectra showed strong emissions at 535 and 570 nm. The color shifts depended on the substituents of the cyclometallating ligands. Cyclic voltammetry gave oxidation potentials of 1.23 V and 1.46 V. Upon the excitation of the films at 365 nm, yellow light was observed, and this could allow potential applications in light‐emitting devices. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2765–2776, 2005     

Synthese und Kristallstruktur der Übergangsmetalltrimetaphosphimate Zn3[(PO2NH)3]2 · 14 H2O und Co3[(PO2NH)3]2 · 14 H2O

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of the Transition Metal Trimetaphosphimates Zn₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O and Co₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O The transition metal trimetaphosphimates Zn₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O and Co₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O were obtained by the reaction of an aqueous solution of Na₃(PO₂NH)₃ · 4 H₂O with the respective metal nitrate or halide (molar ratio 1 : 4). The structure of Zn₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O was solved by single crystal X‐ray methods. The structure of isotypic Co₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O was refined from X‐ray powder diffraction data using the Rietveld method (Zn₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O ( 1 ): P 1, a = 743.7(2), b = 955.9(2), c = 980.1(2) pm, α = 102.70(3), β = 90.46(3), and γ = 100.12(3)°, Z = 1; Co₃[(PO₂NH)₃]₂ · 14 H₂O ( 2 ): P 1, a = 746.05(1), b = 957.06(2), c = 988.51(2) pm, α = 102.162(1), β = 90.044(1), and γ = 99.258(1)°, Z = 1). In 1 and 2 the P₃N₃ rings of the trimetaphosphimate ions attain a conformation which can be described as a combination of an ideal boat and an ideal twist conformation. The trimetaphosphimate ions act as bridging ligands. Thus chains of alternating M²⁺ and (PO₂NH)₃^3– ions are formed which are interconnected by additional M²⁺ ions forming electro‐neutral double chains. In the solid these double chains are connected by hydrogen bonds.     

Highly fluorinated thermotropic liquid crystals: an update

Fluorine is used in liquid crystal materials in order to give them particular properties as compared to their hydrocarbon homologues. This leads to use of the new compounds as materials mainly in display devices such as Twisted Nematic Liquid Crystals Display (TNLCD) or for the development of Surface Stabilized Ferroelectric smectic C* display (SSFLCDs). In this paper, we describe recent studies and research effort concerning the liquid crystalline behavior of compounds incorporating a highly fluorinated part with more than one fluoromethylene units. We examine some of their mesophase properties and the impact of molecular shape on the resulting liquid crystal behavior.     

Water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by water-dispersible poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels: understanding anti-Finkle behavior

Emulsions were prepared using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels as thermoresponsive stabilizers. The latter are well-known for their sensitivity to temperature: they are swollen by water below the so-called volume phase transition temperature (VPTT = 33 °C) and shrink when heated above it. Most of the studies reported in the literature reveal that the corresponding emulsions are of the oil-in-water type (O/W) and undergo fast destabilization upon warming above the VPTT. In the present study, whereas O/W emulsions were obtained with a wide panel of oils of variable polarity and were all thermoresponsive, water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions were found only in the presence of fatty alcohols and did not exhibit any thermal sensitivity. To understand the peculiar behavior of emulsions based on fatty alcohols, we investigated the organization of microgels at the oil-water interface and we studied the interactions of pNIPAM microgels with octanol. By combining several microscopy methods and by exploiting the limited coalescence process, we provided evidence that W/O emulsions are stabilized by multilayers of nondeformed microgels located inside the aqueous drops. Such behavior is in contradiction with the empirical Finkle rule stating that the continuous phase of the preferred emulsion is the one in which the stabilizer is preferentially dispersed. The study of microgels in nonemulsified binary water/octanol systems revealed that octanol diffused through the aqueous phase and was incorporated in the microgels. Thus, W/O emulsions were stabilized by microgels whose properties were substantially different from the native ones. In particular, after octanol uptake, they were no longer thermoresponsive, which explained the loss of responsiveness of the corresponding W/O emulsions. Finally, we showed that the incorporation of octanol modified the interfacial properties of the microgels: the higher the octanol uptake before emulsification, the lower the amount of particles in direct contact with the interface. The multilayer arrangement was thus necessary to ensure efficient stabilization against coalescence, as it increased interface cohesiveness. We discussed the origin of this counterexample of the Finkle's rule.     

Spatial chaos in boundary layer transition

Experiments have been performed on a laminar flat plate boundary layer undergoing transition to turbulence. Reproducible disturbances were introduced via a loudspeaker embedded at some upstream location and their evolution over the plate measured using hot-wire anemometry. A new technique has been used to estimate the number of nonlinearly independent modes in the reconstructed phase portraits. Nonlinear maps were then fitted that explicitly model the spatial evolution of disturbances. These maps are consistent with classical linear stability theory for small disturbances, and give rise to Smale horse-shoe like behaviour for larger amplitude distrubances. Thus a mechanism for generating chaos has been uncovered.