Excited-state proton-coupled electron transfer within ion pairs

The use of light to drive proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions has received growing interest, with recent focus on the direct use of excited states in PCET reactions (ES-PCET). Electrostatic ion pairs provide a scaffold to reduce reaction orders and have facilitated many discoveries in electron-transfer chemistry. Their use, however, has not translated to PCET. Herein, we show that ion pairs, formed solely through electrostatic interactions, provide a general, facile means to study an ES-PCET mechanism. These ion pairs formed readily between salicylate anions and tetracationic ruthenium complexes in acetonitrile solution. Upon light excitation, quenching of the ruthenium excited state occurred through ES-PCET oxidation of salicylate within the ion pair. Transient absorption spectroscopy identified the reduced ruthenium complex and oxidized salicylate radical as the primary photoproducts of this reaction. The reduced reaction order due to ion pairing allowed the first-order PCET rate constants to be directly measured through nanosecond photoluminescence spectroscopy. These PCET rate constants saturated at larger driving forces consistent with approaching the Marcus barrierless region. Surprisingly, a proton-transfer tautomer of salicylate, with the proton localized on the carboxylate functional group, was present in acetonitrile. A pre-equilibrium model based on this tautomerization provided non-adiabatic electron-transfer rate constants that were well described by Marcus theory. Electrostatic ion pairs were critical to our ability to investigate this PCET mechanism without the need to covalently link the donor and acceptor or introduce specific hydrogen bonding sites that could compete in alternate PCET pathways.

Electrostatic ion pairs provide a general method to study excited-state proton-coupled electron transfer. A PT_aET_b mechanism is identified for the ES-PCET oxidation of salicylate within photoexcited cationic ruthenium–salicylate ion pairs.     

Hydrogen desorption exceeding ten weight percent from the new quaternary hydride Li3BN2H8

Mobile applications of hydrogen power have long demanded new solid hydride materials with large hydrogen storage capacities. We report synthesis of a new quaternary hydride having the approximate composition Li(3)BN(2)H(8) with 11.9 wt % theoretical hydrogen capacity. It forms by reacting LiNH(2) and LiBH(4) powders in a 2:1 molar ratio either by ball milling or by heating the mixed powders above 95 degrees C. This new quaternary hydride melts at approximately 190 degrees C and releases > or =10 wt % hydrogen above approximately 250 degrees C. A small amount of ammonia (2-3 mol % of the generated gas) is released simultaneously. Preliminary calorimetric measurements suggest that hydrogen release is exothermic and, hence, not easily reversible.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of Cd[AlCl4]2 and Cd2[AlCl4]2

Colorless single crystals of Cd[AlCl₄]₂ grow from the melt of CdCl₂ and AlCl₃ upon slow cooling from 250°C. The crystal structure [monoclinic, P1a1, Z = 2, a = 1288.7(2), b = 660.2(1), c = 705.1(1) pm, β = 92.89(1)º] may be derived from hexagonally closest packed layers of Cl^?. Octahedral and tetrahedral holes are filled with Cd²⁺ and Al³⁺ in a 1:2 ratio between all layers stacked in the [104] direction. Cd[GaCl₄]₂ and Cd[AlBr₄]₂ are isotypic. Reduction of Cd[AlCl₄]₂ with excess cadmium shot and slow cooling from 350°C yields plate-like very moisture-sensitive, colorless single crystals of Cd₂[AlCl₄]₂. The crystal structure [triclinic, C1 , Z = 2, a = 655.47(3), b = 1135.26(1), c = 935.23(6) pm, α = 89.70(2)º, β = 103.61(1)º, γ = 90.455(1)º] is built from slabs stacked in the [100] direction consisting of ethane-like [Cd₂Cl₆] units with a Cd? Cd distance of 256.1 pm sharing common vertices with [AlCl₄] tetrahedra.     

New Perspectives in Polyoxometalate Chemistry by isolation of compounds containing very large moieties as transferable building blocks: (NMe4)5[As2Mo8V4AsO40] · 3H2O, (NH4)21[H3Mo57V6(NO)6O183(H2O)18] · 65 H2O, (NH2Me2)18(NH4)6[Mo57V6(NO)6O183(H2O)18] · 14 H2O,and (NH4)12[Mo36(NO)4O108(H2O)16] · 33 H2O

The compounds (NMe₄)₅[As₂Mo₈V₄AsO₄₀] · 3 H₂O 2a , (NH₄)₂₁[H₃Mo₅₇V₆(NO)₆O₁₈₃(H₂O)₁₈] · 65 H₂O 3a , (NH₂Me₂)₁₈(NH₄)₆[Mo₅₇V₆(NO)₆O₁₈₃(H₂O)₁₈] · 14 H₂O 3b and (NH₄)₁₂[Mo₃₆(NO)₄O₁₀₈(H₂O)₁₆] · 33 H₂O 4a ( 3a and 4a were not correctly reported in the literature regarding to their composition, structures and the oxidation states of the metal centres) which contain large isolated anionic species, have been prepared (among them 3a, 3b , and 4a in rather high yield) and characterized by complete crystal structure analysis as well as IR/Raman, UV/VIS/NIR, ESR spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements, redox titrations, bond valence sum calculations, elemental analyses and thermogravimetric studies. Perspectives for polyoxometalate chemistry referring to the synthesis of “extremely” large nanoscaled species are discussed, together with the occurrence of a large transferable {Mo₁₇} building block in the compounds 3a, 3b and 4a which also exists in the corresponding iron compound Na₃(NH₄)₁₂[H₁₅Mo₅₇Fe₆(NO)₆O₁₈₃(H₂O)₁₈] · 76 H₂O 7a .     

Cs3[Tb10(C2)2]Cl21, ein neuer Formel- und Strukturtyp mit isolierten,dimeren Clustern

Cs₃[Tb₁₀(C₂)₂]Cl₂₁, A New Formula and Structure Type with Isolated Dimeric Clusters Cs₃[Tb₁₀(C₂)₂]Cl₂₁ is obtained via the metallothermic reduction of TbCl₃ with caesium in the presence of graphite as black single crystals. The crystal structure (monoclinic, C2/c, Z = 4; a = 2318.72(13); b = 1245.8(9); c = 1502.0(13) pm; β = 98.13(6)°; R = 0.089; R_w = 0.049) contains dimeric clusters that are built from two octahedra connected via one common edge and filled with C₂ units. These isolated [Tb₁₀(C₂)₂] clusters are surrounded by 26 chloride ligands which are then connected via i—a and a—a bridges in a way that voids for Cs⁺ of coordination number 10 are formed.     

Caesium Heptaiodo‐Dititanate(III), CsTi2I7

Caesium heptaiodo‐dititanate(III), CsTi₂I₇, is obtained from CsI, Ti and TiI₄ at 250 °C in a sealed tantalum ampoule as dark red single crystals. The crystal structure (trigonal, R‐3, a = 1706.6(3), c = 2088.3(5) pm, Z = 12, R1 = 0.0619) contains [TiI₄] tetrahedra sharing common vertices (with Ti—I—Ti angles of 180°) to isolated ditetrahedra [Ti₂I₇]^—. It may also be described as a cubic closest packing of alternating CsI₃ and I₄ layers between which neighbouring tetrahedra are occupied in a way that [Ti₂I₇]^— ditetrahedra are achieved. http://www.gerdmeyer.de     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples using high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection

The determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV and fluorescence detection has been well established. Although most of the PAHs can be detected by these methods, some environmentally important polyaromatic compounds, such as acenaphthylene, do not show fluorescence and can only be determined by UV detection at higher concentrations. A sensitive and selective determination of acenaphthylene, acenaphthene and the six PAHs listed in the TVO, the German drinking water standard, is also possible by amperometric detection following HPLC separation. The method was applied to the determination of PAHs in different water samples after solid-phase extraction (SPE). The efficiency of the amperometric determination was found to be superior to UV detection (λ = 300 nm).     

Pore formation during the pyrolysis of C-Nb2O5 and C-Ta2O5 xerogels

Binary organic-inorganic gels have been prepared by mixing a carbonaceous hydrosol and a Nb₂O₅ or Ta₂O₅ sol derived by hydrolysis of the alkoxides. The gels are pyrolyzed under an inert atmosphere into precursors in which carbon and the metal oxides are mixed very intimately. High temperature treatment converts the precursors into the cubic face centered carbides. The precursors as well as the carbides have been shown to be micro- and mesoporous materials. Measurements of nitrogen adsorption reveal a characteristic change of the shapes of the isotherms (Type I Type IV) and of the hysteresis loops (H4H2H1) during the thermal processes. Pore widening has been observed with rising temperature. The phenomena of crystallization, carbothermal reduction and sintering were found to control the pore shape and size. The results of the adsorption measurement correlate well with those of the thermoanalytical and X-ray diffraction studies.Dedicated to Professor Dr. rer.nat. Dr. h.c. Hubertus Nickel on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Cs[Er6C]I12 und Cs2Lu[Lu6C]Cl18: Beispiele für quaternäre reduzierte Halogenide der Lanthanide mit isolierten „Clustern”︁

CS[Er₆C]I₁₂ and cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]CI₁₈: Examples for Quaternary Reduced Halides of the Lanthanides with Isolated “Clusters” Cs[Er₆C]I₁₂ and Cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]Cl₁₈ were obtained as byproducts through metallothermic reductions of ErI₃ and LuCl, with cesium in the presence of carbon in sealed tantalum containers at temperatures ranging from 700 to 940 °C. Cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]Cl₁₈ (isostructural with Cs₂Zr[Zr₆H]Cl₁₈, R 3 , a = 981.7 pm, c = 2723.2 pm, Z = 3, R = 0.082, R, = 0.053) contains octahedral [Lu₆C] clusters which are slightly compressed along the threefold axis and edge-bridged by twelve chloride anions to form [Lu₆C]Cl₁₂ units. Six additional Cl in exo positions of the cluster provide octahedral coordination for the seventh Lu³⁺. Cs⁺ occupies anticuboctahedral interstices within the Cl⁺ layers as a part of the (hexagonal) closest packed arrangement. Cs[Er₆C]I₁₂ (trigonal, R 3, a = 1112.0pm, c = 2063.8pm, Z = 3, R = 0.094, R, = 0.068) exhibits [Er₆C]I₁₂ units as well and shows the structural framework of Sc[Sc₆N]Cl₁₂. Instead of Sc³⁺ in octahedral holes, cesium occupies a regular iodide position within the ccp sheets forming [CsI₃] layers. Both halides are compared with other compounds of the lanthanides containing isolated [M₆X₁₂] clusters. The extreme electron deficiency is discussed.     

Determination of the atomic charge on sodium in sodium salts by numerical integration — a theoretical investigation

The electron density difference in a NaSCN crystal is set up from the ab initio densities of Na⁺ and SCN^? ions and compared to the experimental counterpart based on X-ray diffraction measurements. Numerical integration over the electron density difference is executed around the Na⁺ ion. The atomic charge (+0.20e) derived in this way is in good agreement with the analogous experimental charge (+0.27e) The low experimental value cannot therefore be taken as an indication for a predominantly non-ionic structure of NaSCN and similar sodium salts