Isolation of the Metalated Ylides [Ph3P−C−CN]M (M=Li,Na, K): Influence of the Metal Ion on the Structure and Bonding Situation

The isolation and structural characterization of the cyanido-substituted metalated ylides [Ph₃P−C−CN]M ( 1-M ; M=Li, Na, K) are reported with lithium, sodium, and potassium as metal cations. In the solid-state, most different aggregates could be determined depending on the metal and additional Lewis bases. The crown-ether complexes of sodium ( 1-Na ) and potassium ( 1-K ) exhibited different structures, with sodium preferring coordination to the nitrogen end, whereas potassium binds in an unusual η²-coordination mode to the two central carbon atoms. The formation of the yldiide was accompanied by structural changes leading to shorter C−C and longer C−N bonds. This could be attributed to the delocalization of the free electron pairs at the carbon atom into the antibonding orbitals of the CN moiety, which was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and computational studies. Detailed density functional theory calculations show that the changes in the structure and the bonding situation were most pronounced in the lithium compounds due to the higher covalency.     

A novel crystal form of metacetamol: the first example of a hydrated form

We report the crystal structure and crystallization conditions of a first hydrated form of metacetamol (a hemihydrate), C₈H₉NO₂·0.5H₂O. It crystallizes from metacetamol‐saturated 1:1 (v/v) water–ethanol solutions in a monoclinic structure (space group P2₁/n) and contains eight metacetamol and four water molecules per unit cell. The conformations of the molecules are the same as in polymorph II of metacetamol, which ensures the formation of hydrogen‐bonded dimers and R₂²(16) ring motifs in its crystal structure similar to those in polymorph II. Unlike in form II, however, these dimers in the hemihydrate are connected through water molecules into infinite hydrogen‐bonded molecular chains. Different chains are linked to each other by metacetamol–water and metacetamol–metacetamol hydrogen bonds, the latter type being also present in polymorph I. The overall noncovalent network of the hemihydrate is well developed and several types of hydrogen bonds are responsible for its formation.     

Revealing the Effect of Heat Treatment on the Spectral Pattern of Unifloral Honeys Using Aquaphotomics

In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the spectral pattern of honey using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). For the research, sunflower, bastard indigo, and acacia honeys were collected from entrusted beekeepers. The honeys were not subject to any treatment before. Samples were treated at 40 °C, 60 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C for 60, 120, 180, and 240 min. This resulted in 17 levels, including the untreated control samples. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content of the honeys was determined using the Winkler method. NIRS spectra were recorded using a handheld instrument. Data analysis was performed using ANOVA for the HMF content and multivariate analysis for the NIRS data. For the latter, PCA, PCA-LDA, and PLSR models were built (using the 1300–1600 nm spectral range) and the wavelengths presenting the greatest change induced by the perturbations of temperature and time intervals were collected systematically, based on the difference spectra and the weights of the models. The most contributing wavelengths were used to visualize the spectral pattern changes on the aquagrams in the specific water matrix coordinates. Our results showed that the heat treatment highly contributed to the formation of free or less bonded water, however, the changes in the spectral pattern highly depended on the crystallization phase and the honey type.     

Radiochemical characterization and decontamination of rare-earth-element concentrate recovered from uranium leach liquors

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The paper deals with two rare earth elements (REE) concentrates recovered from uranium leach liquors after sorption separation of uranium....     

Towards the rational design of ylide-substituted phosphines for gold(i)-catalysis: from inactive to ppm-level catalysis

The implementation of gold catalysis into large-scale processes suffers from the fact that most reactions still require high catalyst loadings to achieve efficient catalysis thus making upscaling impractical. Here, we report systematic studies on the impact of the substituent in the backbone of ylide-substituted phosphines (YPhos) on the catalytic activity in the hydroamination of alkynes, which allowed us to increase the catalyst performance by orders of magnitude. While electronic changes of the ligand properties by introduction of aryl groups with electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups had surprisingly little impact on the activity of the gold complexes, the use of bulky aryl groups with ortho-substituents led to a remarkable boost in the catalyst activity. However, this catalyst improvement is not a result of an increased steric demand of the ligand towards the metal center, but due to steric protection of the reactive ylidic carbon centre in the ligand backbone. The gold complex of the thus designed mesityl-substituted YPhos ligand Y_MesPCy₂, which is readily accessible in one step from a simple phosphonium salt, exhibited a high catalyst stability and allowed for turnover numbers up to 20 000 in the hydroamination of a series of different alkynes and amines. Furthermore, the catalyst was also active in more challenging reactions including enyne cyclisation and the formation of 1,2-dihydroquinolines.

Modification of the backbone in ylide-substituted phosphines allowed a remarkable boost in the catalytic activity, thus enabling a series of gold catalyzed transformations at very low catalyst loadings.     

A soft molecular 2Fe–2As precursor approach to the synthesis of nanostructured FeAs for efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation

An unprecedented molecular 2Fe–2As precursor complex was synthesized and transformed under soft reaction conditions to produce an active and long-term stable nanocrystalline FeAs material for electrocatalytic water oxidation in alkaline media. The 2Fe2As-centred β-diketiminato complex, having an unusual planar Fe₂As₂ core structure, results from the salt-metathesis reaction of the corresponding β-diketiminato Fe^IICl complex and the AsCO⁻ (arsaethynolate) anion as the monoanionic As⁻ source. The as-prepared FeAs phase produced from the precursor has been electrophoretically deposited on conductive electrode substrates and shown to act as a electro(pre)catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The deposited FeAs undergoes corrosion under the severe anodic alkaline conditions which causes extensive dissolution of As into the electrolyte forming finally an active two-line ferrihydrite phase (Fe₂O₃(H₂O)_x). Importantly, the dissolved As in the electrolyte can be fully recaptured (electro-deposited) at the counter electrode making the complete process eco-conscious. The results represent a new and facile entry to unexplored nanostructured transition-metal arsenides and their utilization for high-performance OER electrocatalysis, which are also known to be magnificent high-temperature superconductors.

A molecularly derived FeAs has been used as an electro(pre)catalyst for an efficient alkaline OER for the first time and subsequently, its active structure has been determined by quasi in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and ex situ methods.     

Synthesis, characterization, and electrochemistry of biorelevant photosensitive low-potential orthometalated ruthenium complexes

Redox potentials of photosensitive cyclometalated RuII derivatives of 2-phenylpyridine or 2-(4-tolyl)pyridine are controllably decreased by up to 0.8 V within several minutes. This is achieved by irradiation of the ruthena(II)cycles cis-[Ru(o-X-2-py)(LL)(MeCN)2]PF6 (2, X = C6H4 (a) or 4-MeC6H3 (b), LL = 1,10-phenanthroline or 2,2'-bipyridine). The cis geometry of the MeCN ligands has been confirmed by the X-ray structural studies. The sigma-bound sp2 carbon of the metalated ring is trans to LL nitrogen. Complexes 2 are made from [Ru(o-X-2-py)(MeCN)4]PF6 (1) and LL. This "trivial" ligand substitution is unusual because 1a reacts readily with phen in MeCN as solvent to give cis-[Ru(o-C6H4-2-py)(phen)(MeCN)2]PF6 (2c) in a 83% yield, but bpy does not afford the bpy-containing 2 under the same conditions. cis-[Ru(o-C6H4-2-py)(bpy)(MeCN)2]PF6 (2e) has been prepared in CH2Cl2 (74%). Studies of complexes 2c,e by cyclic voltammetry in MeOH in the dark reveal RuII/III quasy-reversible redox features at 573 and 578 mV (vs Ag/AgCl), respectively. A minute irradiation 2c and 2e converts them into new species with redox potentials of -230 and 270 mV, respectively. An exceptional potential drop for 2c is accounted for in terms of a photosubstitution of both MeCN ligands by methanol. ESR, 1H NMR, and UV-vis data indicate that the primary product of photolysis of 2c is an octahedral monomeric low-spin (S = 1/2) RuIII species, presumably cis-[RuIII(o-C6H4-2-py)(phen)(MeOH)2]2+. The primary photoproduct of bpy complex 2e is cis-[RuII(o-C6H4-2-py)(bpy)(MeCN)(MeOH)]+, and this accounts for a lower decrease in the redox potential. Irradiation of 2c in the presence of added chloride affords [(phen)(o-C6H4-2-py)ClRuIIIORuIVCl(o-C6H4-2-py)(phen)]PF6, a first mu-oxo-bridged mixed valent dimer with a cyclometalated unit. The structure of the dimer has been established by X-ray crystallography.     

Electrical properties of multilayers from low- and high-molecular-weight polyelectrolytes

The formation of stable multilayer films by using as constituents sodium poly(4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PVP) was studied by electrooptics. A strong increase in basicity of the pyridine rings in the electrical field of the oppositely charged PSS chains was suggested to be the driving force for multilayer film formation. A linear increase in the film thickness was registered after deposition of the first three layers, with no dependence on the polyelectrolyte molecular weight. The electrooptical effect was found to increase with increasing area of each next layer, but depended on the molecular weights of both polymers. Polarization of "condensed" counterions along the chains of the last-adsorbed layer was suggested to explain this dependence. Following the counterion dynamics, we come to the conclusion that the electrical properties of the top layer govern the electrooptical behavior of the PSS/PVP film.     

Synthesis and study of the structure of new 3d-metal coordination compounds with substituted 2-amino-4(5H)-ketothiophens

A series of new 3d-metal complexes based on 2-amino-3-(1-methylbenzimidazol-2-yl)-4(5H)-ketothiophen (HL¹) and 2-amino-3-(2-benzothiazolyl)-4(5H)-ketothiophen (HL²) were synthesized. Compounds of the general formulas [ML₂] and [M(HL¹)₂Cl₂] (where M = Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺) were prepared by the reaction of the above mentioned ligands with the corresponding acetate (for [ML₂]) or chloride (for [M(HL¹)₂Cl₂]) salts in a methanol or a methanol–chloroform medium. The choice of the anion in the initial metal salt, as well as the selection of the ligand, is crucial for obtaining coordination compounds with a neutral or deprotonated form of the 2-amino-4(5H)-ketothiophens. Thus, in contrast to HL¹, complexes with the neutral form of HL² cannot be obtained under the same conditions. All the complexes were studied by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography (for [CuL¹₂] · H₂O). The coordination polyhedron of the copper atom is formed by four nitrogen atoms from two ligand anions and the geometry of the coordination sphere is intermediate between tetrahedral and square-planar.