Optoelectronic,Aggregation, and Redox Properties of Double-Rotor Boron Difluoride Hydrazone Dyes

We develop the chemistry of boron difluoride hydrazone dyes (BODIHYs) bearing two aryl substituents and explore their properties. The low-energy absorption bands (λ_max=427–464 nm) of these dyes depend on the nature of the N-aryl groups appended to the BODIHY framework. Electron-donating and extended π-conjugated groups cause a redshift, whereas electron-withdrawing groups result in a blueshift. The title compounds were weakly photoluminescent in solution and strongly photoluminescent as thin films (λ_PL=525–578 nm) with quantum yields of up to 18 % and lifetimes of 1.1–1.7 ns, consistent with the dominant radiative decay through fluorescence. Addition of water to THF solutions of the BODIHYs studied causes molecular aggregation which restricts intramolecular motion and thereby enhances photoluminescence. The observed photoluminescence of BODIHY thin films is likely facilitated by a similar molecular packing effect. Finally, cyclic voltammetry studies confirmed that BODIHY derivatives bearing para-substituted N-aryl groups could be reversibly oxidized (E_ox1=0.62–1.02 V vs. Fc/Fc⁺) to their radical cation forms. Chemical oxidation studies confirmed that para-substituents at the N-aryl groups are required to circumvent radical decomposition pathways. Our findings provide new opportunities and guiding principles for the design of sought-after multifunctional boron difluoride complexes that are photoluminescent in the solid state.     

An ordering of dependence for contingency tables

A majorization ordering is defined on matrices with the same row and column sums. This ordering is used as an ordering of dependence for contingency tables. Results are derived for maximal and minimal matrices with respect to the majorization ordering. This theory can be used to maximize and minimize Schur concave functions defined over matrices, when there are row and column sum constraints; in this paper, it is applied to the algorithm of Mehta and Patel (1983) for finding the P-value of Fisher's exact test.     

Krylov type subspace methods for matrix polynomials

We consider solving eigenvalue problems or model reduction problems for a quadratic matrix polynomial Iλ² − Aλ − B with large and sparse A and B. We propose new Arnoldi and Lanczos type processes which operate on the same space as A and B live and construct projections of A and B to produce a quadratic matrix polynomial with the coefficient matrices of much smaller size, which is used to approximate the original problem. We shall apply the new processes to solve eigenvalue problems and model reductions of a second order linear input-output system and discuss convergence properties. Our new processes are also extendable to cover a general matrix polynomial of any degree.     

On the Coriolis effect in acoustic waveguides

Rotation of an elastic medium gives rise to a shift of frequency of its acoustic modes, i.e., the time-period vibrations that exist in it. This frequency shift is investigated by applying perturbation theory in the regime of small ratios of the rotation velocity and the frequency of the acoustic mode. In an expansion of the relative frequency shift in powers of this ratio, upper bounds are derived for the first-order and the second-order terms. The derivation of the theoretical upper bounds of the first-order term is presented for linear vibration modes as well as for stable nonlinear vibrations with periodic time dependence that can be represented by a Fourier series.     

A new series of dinucleating macrocyclic ligands and their complexes of zinc(II)

A new category of dinucleating macrocyclic Schiff base ligands with ring sizes from 34- to 52-membered have been synthesised employing metal template procedures involving the reaction of o-phenylenediamine with a series of α,ω-bis(3′-hydroxy-4′-formylphenyloxy)alkanes in the presence of calcium(II), barium(II) or manganese(II). The latter cations act as ‘transient’ templates for formation of the corresponding metal-free Schiff base macrocyclic ligands, H₄Lⁿ (where n signifies the number of carbons in each linking bis-alkoxy chain); the macrocycles corresponding to n = 4, 6 and 8 were isolated and characterised while, for n = 1, in which single methylene groups acts as the bridges between salicyl moieties, the cyclic product was used directly for preparation of its dinuclear complex, [Zn₂L¹], without prior isolation. Evidence for the templating role of barium in the preparation of H₄L⁶ and H₄L⁸ was obtained by isolation of the corresponding species of type H₄Lⁿ·2Ba(ClO₄)₂ (n = 6 or 8) as ‘intermediates’ before generation of the respective metal-free macrocycles. Reaction of zinc(II) acetate with the free macrocycles in methanol yielded complexes of type [Zn₂Lⁿ] in all cases. A related non-cyclic ligand, H₂L⁰ and its corresponding mononuclear complex, [ZnL⁰]·H₂O, were also synthesised and its spectral properties compared with those of the macrocyclic derivatives. The elemental analyses, ¹H NMR, IR, UV–Vis and MS spectra of the respective zinc complexes in each case were in accord with the formation of the expected 2:2 condensation product. The results of DFT calculations to probe aspects of the electronic and structural natures of both H₂L¹ and H₄L⁴ are briefly presented.     

Triangles and tetrahedra: metal directed self-assembly of metallo-supramolecular structures incorporating bis-beta-diketonato ligands

The interaction of six aryl-linked bis-beta-diketones, including a new naphthylene linked species, with copper(II), iron(III) and, in one instance gallium(III), has been investigated with the aim of obtaining metallo-supramolecular assemblies exhibiting different geometries. New examples of two assembly types incorporating the above bis-beta-diketones (L) were generated. The first type is represented by a range of molecular triangles of formula [Cu(3)(L-H(2))(3)](solvent)(n) while the second is given by a corresponding selection of less-common neutral molecular tetrahedra of formula [Fe(4)(L-H(2))(6)](solvent)(n) as well as [Ga(4)(L-H(2))(6)].8.5THF.0.5H(2)O; an example of each type has been characterised by X-ray crystallography. A magnetochemical investigation of [Fe(4)(-H(2))(6)].6THF is reported. The susceptibility is Curie like and consistent with very weak coupling occurring between the iron(III) d(5)(high spin) centres. The X-ray structures of two trinuclear copper(II) as well as a tetranuclear iron(III) and a tetranuclear gallium(III) assembly confirm their discrete triangular and tetrahedral geometries, respectively. The structure of the gallium(III) species is closely related to that of the corresponding iron(III) species. The tetrahedral structures provide rare examples of such assemblies encapsulating guest solvent molecules--in each case tetrahydrofuran is incorporated in the central cavity.     

Atropisomers of meso Tetra(N-Mesyl Pyrrol-2-yl) Porphyrins: Synthesis,Isolation and Characterization of All-Pyrrolic Porphyrins

Atropisomerism has been observed in a variety of biaryl compounds and meso-aryl substituted porphyrins. However, in porphyrins, this phenomenon had been shown only with o-substituted 6-membered aromatic groups at the meso-position. We show herein that a 5-membered heteroaromatic (N-mesyl-pyrrol-2-yl) group at the meso-position leads to atropisomerism. In addition, we report a ‘one-pot’ synthetic route for the synthesis of ‘all-pyrrolic’ porphyrin (APP) with several N-protection groups (Boc, Cbz, Ms and Ts). Among these groups, we found that only the Ms group gave four individually separable atropisomers of meso-tetra(N-Ms-pyrrol-2-yl) porphyrin. Furthermore, the reductive removal of Cbz- was achieved to obtain meso-tetra(pyrrol-2-yl) porphyrin. Thus, our synthetic procedure provides an easy access to a group of APPs and stable atropisomers, which is expected to expand the application of novel APP-based materials.     

Systematic structural studies on cobalt(II) complexes of tricyclohexylphosphine oxide and related ligands

The new cobalt(II) phosphine oxide complexes Co(Cy₃PO)₂Cl₂ (1), Co(Cy₃PO)₂Br₂ (2), Co(Cy₃PO)₂I₂ (3), Co(Ph₂CyPO)₂Cl₂ (4), Co(Ph₂CyPO)₂Br₂ (5), Co(Ph₂CyPO)₂I₂ (6), Co(Ph₂EtPO)₂Br₂ (7), Co(Cy₃PO)₂(NCS)₂ (8) and Co(Cy₃PO)₂(NO₃)₂ (9) have been prepared mainly by the reaction of anhydrous CoX₂ (X = Cl, Br, I, NCS, NO₃) with the appropriate phosphine oxide. The complexes were characterised by single-crystal X-ray crystallography supported by IR and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The structural analyses show that the cobalt(II) centre adopts a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry except for 9 which displays an octahedral geometry. Systematic structural features of these complexes are explained within this paper.     

Cyclic (ALN)n Compounds as Precursors to Aluminum Nitride: Synthesis and Structure of [(CH3)2AlNH2]3 and the Planar Species [(t-C4H9)2AlNH2]3

Abstract

The crystal and molecular structures of the title compounds, [(CH₃)₂AlNH₂]₃ 1 and [(t-C₄H₉)₂AlNH₂]₃ 2, have been determined in connection with their investigation as possible precursors to aluminum nitride. Both compounds have an (AlN)₃ ring-structure with distorted tetrahedral geometries for the ring Al and N atoms. The distortion from tetrahedral geometry is most pronounced for the N atoms where the endocyclic Al-N-Al bond angles average 125.3 for 1 and 134.2 for 2. The (AlN)₃ ring in 1 is in a skew-boat conformation with no unusual intra- or intermolecular contacts. Compound 2 on the other hand exhibits an unprecedented planar (AlN)₃ ring as required by a crystallographic three-fold symmetry axis. The effects of the Al and N substituents on the (AlN)₃ ring size and conformation, as well as on the endocyclic Al-N-Al bond angles, are discussed in the context of the structural results obtained for these and other (AlN)_n ring compounds.     

Improvement of solid phase microextraction fiber assembly and interface for liquid chromatography

Modifications were made on commercial SPME fiber assembly and SPME–LC interface to improve the applicability of SPME for LC. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/C18 bonded fuse silica was used as the fiber coating for LC applications because the fiber coating was not swollen in common LC solvents at room temperature. The inner tubing of SPME fiber assembly was replaced with a 457 μm outside diameter (o.d.) solid nitinol rod. And the coated fiber (o.d. 290 μm) was installed onto the nitinol rod. The inner diameter (i.d.) of the through hole of the ferrule in the SPME–LC interface was enlarged to 508 μm to accommodate the nitinol rod. The much larger inner rod protected the fiber coating from being stripped when the fiber was withdrawn from the SPME–LC interface. The system was evaluated in term of pressure test, desorption optimization, peak shape, carryovers, linear range, precision, and limit of detection (LOD) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as the test analytes. The results demonstrated that the improved system was robust and reliable. It overcame the drawbacks, such as leak of solvents and damage of fiber coatings, associated with current SPME fibers and SPME–LC interface. Another sealing mechanism was proposed by sealing the nitinol rod with a specially designed poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) fitting. The device was fabricated and tested for manual use.