Model complexes for metallated polythiophenes: gold(I) and palladium(II) complexes of bis(diphenylphosphino)oligothiophenes

The preparations of two new phosphinothiophene ligands, 3,3'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-2,2'-bithiophene (dppbt; 1) and 3,3' "-dihexyl-3',3' '-bis(diphenylphosphino)-2,5':2',2' ':5' ',2' "-quaterthiophene (hdppqt; 2) are reported. Oxidation of 1 gives 3,3'-bis(diphenylphosphine oxide)-2,2'-bithiophene (3), and the crystal structure of this compound was determined. Pd(II) and Au(I) complexes of these ligands have been synthesized and characterized. Crystal structures of [(dppbt)PdCl(2)] (1-Pd), [(hdppqt)PdCl(2)] (2-Pd), [(dppbt)(AuCl)(2)] (1-Au), and [(hdppqt)(AuCl)(2)] (2-Au) were obtained. [(dppbt)(AuCl)(2)] crystallized in two solid-state forms; crystals grown from CH(2)Cl(2)/Et(2)O show a gold-gold interaction of 3.3221(4) A, but from CH(2)Cl(2)/toluene, the molecule crystallizes as a toluene adduct (1-Au-tol) and does not show any gold-gold interaction. All the complexes were characterized via UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry, and the effect of the metal on the energy of the pi-pi transition and oxidation potential was determined. These data are correlated to the interannular torsion angles in the oligothienyl groups from the crystal structure studies.     

cis-trans Isomerization of bis(Dialkylsulfide)Dihaloplatinum(II) Complexes in Solution

The equilibrium energetics and the kinetics of cis-trans isomerization of some bis(dialkylsulfide)dihaloplatinum(II) complexes have been examined by ¹H-NMR. spectroscopy. The isomers are stable in chloroform but each form isomerizes to an equilibrium mixture when free dialkylsulfide is added. The cis to trans process is endothermic and the position of the equilibrium is markedly dependent on the nature of the donor atoms and of the solvent. The rate of isomerization of Pt(Me₂S)₂Cl₂ is first order in complex and in Me₂S. The isomerization proceeds by a double displacement mechanism as it is shown that the tris(dimethylsulfide)chloroplatinum(II) cation is an isolable intermediate of the reaction. When free Me₂S is added to trans-Pd(Me₂S)₂Cl₂, isomerization does not occur and one observes instead a fast ligand exchange. Its mechanism is the usual associative one for substitutions in square planar d⁸complexes.     

The reaction intermediate spectrum. A new type of experiment in tandem mass spectrometry

A new scan is described which responds to ions that are intermediates in the dissociation of a mass-selected parent ion (m_p) to give a mass-selected daughter ion (m_d). The scan gives a simple mass v. abundance output for ions which satisfy this condition. It is implemented here on a BEQQ hybrid mass spectrometer using, in sequence, collision-induced dissociation occurring at high energy in the first reaction region, and low-energy collisional activation in the collision quadrupole. The experiment provides information on reaction sequences not available from single scans of other types. In the several cases examined, it is demonstrated that, among many conceivable fragmentation routes connecting a parent ion with a particular fragment ion, only a few are significant. Examination of reaction intermediate spectra also appears to be a fruitful new approach to mechanistic questions, as illustrated by consideration of the behavior of several isomeric octanones. These new spectra also have analytical value: they show good signal-to-noise ratios and allow ready distinction between isobaric and isomeric ions. A comparison of the reaction intermediate spectrum with a daughter spectrum obtained by the B/E linked-scanning technique reveals the contributions of artifact peaks which result from poor parent ion mass resolution in the latter. Reaction intermediate spectra combine information from the daughter spectra of m_p and the parent spectra of m_d and, as a specified portion of this data domain, have unique characteristics.     

One-pot synthesis of hollow superparamagnetic CoPt nanospheres

Hollow metal nanospheres are of interest for a variety of academic and technological applications, including drug delivery, catalysis, plasmonics, and lightweight structural composites. Despite recent advances in synthesizing metal nanostructures with controlled morphologies, there are very few reports of hollow bimetallic nanospheres, although such systems promise to offer advantages over single-metal systems. Here, were report a one-pot synthetic strategy for accessing hollow CoPt nanospheres with a Co-Pt alloy structure. The approach utilizes an in situ Co template and exploits galvanic displacement reactions to selectively dissolve the Co core while depositing a Pt shell. The combination of reducing conditions and a polymer stabilizer appears to allow the Co and Pt to co-reduce and form a Co-Pt fcc alloy phase with a morphology that is templated by the sacrificial Co core. The hollow CoPt nanospheres, which show magnetic hysteresis at low temperatures, are thermally stable up to 300 degrees C. The approach, which adds to a growing toolbox of reactions that yield morphologically controlled magnetic CoPt and FePt nanomaterials, is likely to be general for a variety of alloy systems.     

The Flipping of CO Ligand Groups in Metal Carbonyl Compounds and its Frequency in Fe(CO)5

It has been proven qualitatively by a number of authors using variable temperature NMR experiments that most metal carbonyl complexes are nonrigid. A quantitative determination of the ligand exchange frequency v_e is often achieved by a line shape analysis or by measurement of the transverse relaxation time T₂ using the Carr-Purcell method. In the case of a “very fast” exchange, however, both methods prove unsuccessful. It is shown in this study that a simultaneous fit of IR or Raman spectra on the one hand and NMR spectra on the other can make possible the determination of v_e for the “very fast” exchange and can also facilitate the determination of v_e in “slow” and “medium” exchange cases considerably. The ligand exchange frequency thus found for Fe(CO)₅, 1.1 × 10¹⁰s^?1, is unexpectedly high; comparison with variable temperature measurements on solid Fe(CO)₅, yields similar energy barriers. A mechanism of exchange closely related to the “Berry mechanism” is proposed. Finally the consequences of this surprisingly large ligand exchange rate are discussed with respect to IR band assignments for molecular “fragments” M(CO)^x (where x=coordination number, and M is a transition metal, typically lanthanoid or actinoid).     

Charge Dispersal in the Quinuclidine Radical Cation and in the Quinuclidinium Ion,as Revealed by PE and ICR Spectroscopy

The n ionization energies I and the gas-phase basicities GB of CH₃-, Cl-, or CN-substituted quinuclidines have been measured by PE and ICR spectroscopy. The dependence of the shifts ΔI and ΔGB (relative to the values of the parent molecule) allow conclusions about the charge dispersal accompanying the n ionization or the protonation of quinuclidine in the gas phase. The agreement with the results of a minimal basis set ab initio calculation is excellent. Comparison of the solution pK_a values with either I or GB reveals that 2-substituted quinuclidines exhibit sizeable solvent-induced proximity effects, i.e. that the corresponding quinuclidinium ions are more acidic in solution than expected on the basis of the gas-phase basicities. This agrees with earlier results concerning 2-substituted pyridines.     

Synthesis of [Ir3Rh(CO)12] and Fluxional Behaviour of Some of Its Substituted Derivatives

The redox condensation of [Ir(CO)₄]^–, [Ir(cod)(THF)₂]⁺, and [Rh(cod)(THF)₂]⁺ (cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene) followed by saturation with CO (1 atm) in THF afforded the first synthetic route to pure [Ir₃Rh(CO)₁₂] ( 1 ). Substitution of CO by monodentate ligands gave [Ir₃Rh(CO)₈(μ₂-CO)₃L] (L = Br^–, 2 ; I^–, 3 ; bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene, 4 ; PPh₃, 5 ). Clusters 2 – 5 have C_s symmetry with the ligand L bound to the basal Rh-atom in axial position. They are fluxional in solution at the NMR time scale due to two CO scrambling processes: the merry-go-round of basal CO's and changes of basal face. An additional process takes place in 5 above room temperature: the intramolecular migration of PPh₃ from the Rh- to a basal Ir-atom. Substitution of CO by polydentate ligands gave [Ir₃Rh(CO)_7–x(μ₂-CO)₃(η⁴-L)x] (L = bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene (= norbornadiene; nbd), x = 1, 6 ; L = nbd, x = 2, 13 ; L = cod, x = 1, 7 ; L = cod x = 2, 15 ), [Ir₃Rh(CO)₇(μ₂-CO)₃(η²-diars)] (diars = 1,2-phenylenebis-(dimethylarsine); 8 ), [Ir₃Rh(CO)₇(μ₂-CO)₃(η⁴-L)] (L = methylenebis(diphenylphosphine), bonded to 2 basal Ir-atom ( 9a ) or one Ir- and one Rh-atom ( 9b )), [Ir₃Rh(CO)₆(μ₂-CO)₃(η⁴-nbd)PPh₃] ( 12 ), and [Ir₃Rh(CO)₆(μ₂-CO)₃(μ₃-L)] (L = 1,3,5-trithiane, 10 ; L = CH(PPh₂)₃, 11 ). Complexes 6 – 8 , 9a , 10 , and 11 have C_s symmetry, the others C₁ symmetry. They are fluxional in solution due to CO scrambling processes involving 1, 3, or 4 metal centres as deduced from 2D-EXSY spectra. Comparison of the activation energies of these processes with those of the isostructural Ir₄ and Ir₂Rh₂ compounds showed that substitution of Ir by Rh in the basal face of an Ir₄ compound slows the processes involving 3 or 4 metal centres (merry-go-round and change of basal face), but increases the rate of carbonyl rotation about an Ir-atom.     

Binuclear wirelike dimers based on ruthenium(II)-bipyridine units linked by ethynylene-oligothiophene-ethynylene bridges

The syntheses, structural characteristics, electrochemical behavior, ground-state spectra, photophysical properties, and transient absorption (TA) spectra in CH(3)CN solvent are reported for binuclear [(bpy)(2)Ru(bpy-E(T)(n)()E-bpy)Ru(bpy)(2)](4+) complexes, Ru(bpyT(n)bpy)Ru, where the Ru-based units are connected by alternating 3,4-dibutylthiophene (DBT')/thiophene (T') fragments linked via ethynyl groups (E) to bpy ligands at the 5-position (bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine). The ligand bpyT(3)bpy represents a module containing DBT'/T'/DBT' subunits, and bpyT(5)bpy accounts for a DBT'/T'/DBT'/T'/DBT' pattern. The syntheses and electrochemical and spectroscopic (emission and TA) properties in CH(2)Cl(2) solvent of the bpyT(n)()bpy ligands are likewise reported. The behavior of the Ru(bpyT(n)bpy)Ru dimers has been compared to that of the bpyT(n)bpy ligands and to that of a related mononuclear complex, [(bpy)(2)Ru(bpy-E-DBT')](2+), Ru(bpyDBT'). For the dimeric complexes, the electrochemical results show that the first reduction step takes place at the bpy ligand(s) bearing an ethynylene group, the first oxidation step is thiophene-centered, and further oxidation involves the metal centers, which are only weakly interacting. The photophysical and TA results for the Ru(bpyT(n)bpy)Ru dimers account for the presence of low-lying oligothiophene-centered (3)pi,pi levels, while higher-lying metal-ligand charge transfer ((3)MLCT) levels are thermally accessible only for the case of Ru(bpyT(3)bpy)Ru; the possible role of charge separation (CS) levels (from oxidation at the thiophene bridge and reduction at one of the coordinated bpy's) is also discussed.     

Coordination properties of a diarylaza crown ether appended with a luminescent [Ru(bipy)3]2+ unit

The [Ru(bipy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2) (bipy refers to 2,2'-bipyridine) complex, comprising a ruthenium(II) tris(2,2'-bipyridine) luminophore covalently linked to a di[(o-triethyleneglycoxy)phenyl]amine crown ether 1, has been synthesized and fully characterized. The photophysical properties of this metal complex have been examined in solution at ambient temperature. Luminescence from the metal complex is enhanced significantly in the presence of various adventitious cations, including protons. In particular, Li(+) cations bind to the crown ether, as evidenced by (1)H NMR and luminescence spectroscopy. Cation binding serves to decrease the rate of reductive quenching of the triplet state of the metal complex, thereby increasing the extent of luminescence. The solution-phase conformation of [Ru(bipy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2), with and without encapsulated Li(+), has been examined by 2-D NMR and by molecular dynamics simulations.     

Translational hydrodynamics for binary mixtures: Memory from internal molecular relaxation

We consider a binary fluid mixture made up of a monatomic species and a two level molecular species and investigate the decay of correlations in the hydrodynamic variables. By restricting our considerations to the translationally hydrodynamic situations, we deduce a set of generalised hydrodynamic equations in which the frequency, ω, and wavenumber, k, dependent memory arises solely from the internal molecular relaxation. From these generalised hydrodynamic equations, we identify various (k, ω) dependent transport coefficients and the relaxation time which depends on k. We also compute the spectrum of (polarised) light scattered from such a binary mixture. We illustrate the dependence on k, ω and concentration in the problem by a numerical calculation of the generalised transport coefficients, the Rayleigh-Brillouin spectrum and the dispersion of various modes in this spectrum for the case of thermal relaxation in a parahydrogen-helium mixture.