Magnetic investigation of Cu(NH3)4(NO3)2

The magnetic properties of Cu(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ have been measured at low temperatures. Broad maxima in both the susceptibility and specific heat are observed and are consistent with linear chain behavior of a Heisenberg antiferromagnet, with J/k = 3.9 ± 0.1 K. Long-range order sets in at T_c = 0.15 ± 0.01 K, and the ratio kT_c/|J| = 0.038 is the lowest observed as yet for a one-dimensional, S = 1/2 antiferromagnet.     

Quantum effect induced kinetic molecular sieving of hydrogen and deuterium in microporous materials

We report here our investigations using Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, as well as quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiments, to study the adsorption and diffusion of H₂ and D₂ in zeolite Rho. In the simulations, quantum effects are incorporated via the Feynman-Hibbs variational approach. At low temperatures, we observe a reversal of kinetic molecular sieving in which D₂ diffuses faster than H₂. Based on fits of bulk data, we suggest new set of potential parameters for hydrogen, with the Feynman-Hibbs variational approach used for quantum corrections. The transport properties obtained from MD simulations are in excellent agreement with the experimental results, with both showing significant quantum effects on the transport at low temperature. The MD simulation results on two different structures of zeolite Rho clearly demonstrate that the quantum effect is very sensitive to pore size. High transport flux selectivity is noted at low temperatures, suggesting feasibility of kinetic isotope separation.     

Crystal structures of 3/4-pyridyl-based thiosemicarbazones and related Cu and Ni coordination compounds

In this investigation, the crystal structures of the thio-ligands 3-formylpyridine 4-phenylthiosemicarbazone (C₁₃H₁₂N₄S, 1 ) and 4-benzoylpyridine 4-ethylthiosemicarbazone (C₁₅H₁₆N₄S, 2 ), and of two new coordination compounds, chlorido(3-formylpyridine 4-phenylthiosemicarbazone-κS)bis(triphenylphosphane-κP)copper(I) acetonitrile monosolvate, [CuCl(C₁₃H₁₂N₄S)(C₁₈H₁₅P)₂]·CH₃CN, 3 , and bis(3-formylpyridine 4-ethylthiosemicarbazonato-κ²N¹,S)nickel(II), [Ni(C₉H₁₁N₄S)₂], 4 , are reported. In complex 3 , the thio-ligand coordinates in a neutral form to the Cu atom through its S-donor atom, and in complex 4 , the anionic thio-ligand chelates to the Ni atom through N- and S-donor atoms. The geometry of complex 3 is distorted tetrahedral [bond angles 99.70 (5)–123.23 (5)°], with the P—Cu—P bond angle being the largest, while that of complex 4 is square planar, with trans-S—Ni—S and N—Ni—N bond angles of 180°.     

Energetics of association in poly(lactic acid)-based hydrogels with crystalline and nanoparticle-polymer junctions

We report the energetics of association in polymeric gels with two types of junction points: crystalline hydrophobic junctions and polymer-nanoparticle junctions. Time-temperature superposition (TTS) of small-amplitude oscillatory rheological measurements was used to probe crystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)-based gels with and without added laponite nanoparticles. For associative polymer gels, the activation energy derived from the TTS shift factors is generally accepted as the associative strength or energy needed to break a junction point. Our systems were found to obey TTS over a wide temperature range of 15-70 °C. For systems with no added nanoparticles, two distinct behaviors were seen, with a transition occurring at a temperature close to the glass transition temperature of PLLA, T(g). Above T(g), the activation energy was similar to the PLLA crystallization enthalpy, suggesting that the activation energy is related to the energy needed to pull a PLLA chain out of the crystalline domain. Below T(g), the activation energy is expected to be the energy required to increase mobility of the polymer chains and soften the glassy regions of the PLLA core. Similar behavior was seen in the nanocomposite gels with added laponite; however, the added clay appears to reduce the average value of the activation enthalpy. This confirms our SAXS results and suggests that laponite particles are participating in the network structure.     

The effect of spin dilution on magnetism of the linear chain system β-Cu2?xZnxV2O7

We have measured the magnetic susceptibility (χ) and heat capacity (C _p) of β-Cu_2−x Zn _x V₂O₇ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 2) in the temperature range 2–300 K. A one-dimensional alternating exchange Heisenberg antiferromagnetism (HAF) is observed in all compositions with chains of infinite length. The intra-chain exchange remains uniform and decreases marginally with dilution of the magnetic state. A cooperative ordering is seen in the magnetic chains for all Zn concentrations (x ≤ 0.3). The temperature of occurrence of this transition decreases with increasing Zn concentration. Though the conventional spin-wave theory has been used here to describe the properties of the ordered phase, the presence of some contributions like the lattice heat capacity in C _p and the Curie-Weiss term in susceptibility introduces some uncertainties in the estimation of the proportions contributed by the spin system. Therefore, the nature of the ordered phase could not be ascertained unambiguously.     

An efficient copper-catalyzed N-arylation of pyridazinones with a structurally well-defined copper complex

N-Arylation of pridazinone derivatives 1 with an aryl or heteroaryl bromide or iodide 2 has been achieved in 70-94% isolated yield using catalytic amounts of the stable and structurally well defined copper catalyst 4b under standard Ullmann-Goldberg reaction conditions. The structure of copper catalyst 4b was characterized by ESI-MS, DSC and the single crystal X-ray.