Tri- and Tetranuclear Metal-String Complexes with Metallophilic d10–d10 Interactions

The reaction of 2,6-F₂C₆H₃SiMe₃ with Ph₂PLi provided 2,6-(Ph₂P)₂C₆H₃SiMe₃ ( 1 ), which can be regarded as precursor for the novel anionic tridentate ligand [2,6-(Ph₂P)₂C₆H₃]⁻ (PCP)⁻. The reaction of 1 with [AuCl(tht)] (tht=tetrahydrothiophene) afforded 2,6-(Ph₂PAuCl)₂C₆H₃SiMe₃ ( 2 ). The subsequent reaction of 2 with CsF proceeded with elimination of Me₃SiF and yielded the neutral tetranuclear complex linear-[Au₄Cl₂(PCP)₂] ( 3 ) comprising a string-like arrangement of four Au atoms. Upon chloride abstraction from 3 with NaBAr^F₄ (Ar^F=3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃) in the presence of tht, the formation of the dicationic tetranuclear complex linear-[Au₄(PCP)₂(tht)₂](BAr^F₄)₂ ( 4 ) was observed, in which the string-like structural motif is retained. Irradiation of 4 with UV light triggered a facile rearrangement in solution giving rise to the dicationic tetranuclear complex cyclo-[Au₄(PCP)₂(tht)₂](BAr^F₄) ( 5 ), which comprises a rhomboidal motif of four Au atoms. In 3 – 5 , the Au atoms are associated by a number of significant aurophilic interactions. The atom-economic and selective reaction of 3 with HgCl₂ yielded the neutral trinuclear bimetallic complex [HgAu₂Cl₃(PCP)] ( 6 ) comprising significant metallophilic interactions between the Au and Hg atoms. Therefore, 6 may be also regarded as a metallopincer complex [ClHg(AuCAu)] between Hg^II and the anionic tridentate ligand [2,6-(Ph₂PAuCl)₂C₆H₃]⁻ (AuCAu)⁻ containing a central carbanionic binding site and two “gold-arms” contributing pincer-type chelation trough metallophilic interactions. Compounds 1 – 6 were characterized experimentally by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography and computationally using a set of real-space bond indicators (RSBIs) derived from electron density (ED) methods including Atoms In Molecules (AIM), the Electron Localizability Indicator (ELI-D) as well as the Non-Covalent Interaction (NCI) Index.     

Interfacial shear rheology of protein-surfactant layers

The shear rheology of adsorbed or spread layers at air/liquid and liquid/liquid phase boundaries is relevant in a wide range of technical applications such as mass transfer, monolayers, foaming, emulsification, oil recovery, or high speed coating. Interfacial shear rheological properties can provide important information about interactions and molecular structure in the interfacial layer. A variety of measuring techniques have been proposed in the literature to measure interfacial shear rheological properties and have been applied to pure protein or mixed protein adsorption layers at air/water or oil/water interfaces. Such systems play for example an important role as stabilizers in foams and emulsions. The aim of this contribution is to give a literature overview of interfacial shear rheological studies of pure protein and protein/surfactant mixtures at liquid interfaces measured with different techniques. Techniques which utilize the damping of waves, spectroscopic or AFM techniques and all micro-rheological techniques will not discuss here.     

Computer Simulations of the Formation of Bile Salt Micelles and Bile Salt/DPPC Mixed Micelles in Aqueous Solutions

Brownian dynamics simulations for a coarse-grained model have been performed to study the formation of micelles from bile salts and mixed micelles with dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in aqueous solutions. The particular association behavior of bile salts as facial surfactants was shown to be caused by their special molecular architecture with a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic side. The experimentally observed smooth transition into the micellar region with increasing concentration is reproduced. Micelle size distributions have been evaluated at different bile salt concentrations. Typical structures of pure bile salt micelles could be identified. The composition and the structure of mixed micelles have been studied in their dependence on the bile salt/lipid concentration ratio in the aqueous solution. We have found that the bile salt fraction in the mixed micelles increases considerably with increasing bile salt/lipid concentration ratio and decreasing micelle size. The structural and thermodynamic features of micelle formation in the aqueous bile salt solutions with DPPC, which we have studied with the coarse-grained model, are in good qualitative agreement with experimental findings.     

Time dependent viscosity of concentrated alumina suspensions

Viscometric investigations of concentrated aqueous alumina suspensions with particles smaller than 5 μm have been performed. Experimental flow curves indicate thixotropy in the shear rate interval between =20 and 640 s⁻¹. In the range smaller than =200 s⁻¹ we found pseudoplastic flow behavior, in the higher range the material shows dilatancy. The non-Newtonian behavior results from a small content of sodium aluminum oxide in the alumina suspension. This gives rise to interparticle forces that can drive the suspension into a gel-like state. The time scale of this process is some days. On the short-time scale of some hours the material ages slowly increasing moderately the apparent viscosity. Studying the relaxation process after a shear rate jump, the shear stress time dependency at constant shear rate follows an exponential law. There is a single particular relaxation time for each shear rate. The relaxation towards a steady state occurs asymptotically over some 10³ s. Flow curves calculated from steady state data after relaxation processes are below the experimental flow curves which were measured during some 100 s. The flow curves follow the Herschel–Bulkley formula. The shape of the viscosity curves indicates changes of suspension structure at ca. =200 and 400 s⁻¹. At constant shear rates in the interval between =400 and 450 s⁻¹ the apparent viscosity of the alumina suspension fluctuates periodically in time in the same manner found for other suspensions. This effect is interpreted as periodic organization of agglomeration and deglomeration processes. Supposing, that the stabilisation energy of agglomerates is of the order of the energy introduced by the mechanical shear field, the observation of oscillations at =400 s⁻¹ is in agreement with the drastic slope change in the viscosity curves.     

Exchange Interactions at Surfaces of Fe, Co, and Gd

Magnetic exchange interactions at low-index surfaces of bcc iron, hcp cobalt, and hcp gadolinium are studied using ab initio electronic structure calculations. Interlayer exchange couplings derived from total-energy differences are enhanced at the surfaces over their bulk counterparts. This trend is in contrast to a surface reduction of on-site exchange parameters formulated within a classical Heisenberg model. A particular attention is paid to the sensitivity of exchange interactions at a Gd(0001) surface to relaxation of interlayer distances. The calculated results do not provide support for recently observed surface enhancement of the Curie temperature of the Gd metal.     

Revealing antiferromagnetic order of the Fe monolayer on W(001): spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and first-principles calculations

We prove that the magnetic ground state of a single monolayer Fe on W(001) is c(2x2) antiferromagnetic, i.e., a checkerboard arrangement of antiparallel magnetic moments. Real space images of this magnetic structure have been obtained with spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. An out-of-plane easy magnetization axis is concluded from measurements in an external magnetic field. The magnetic ground state and anisotropy axis are explained based on first-principles calculations.     

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