Retracted: Light-Induced Bistability in Iron(III) Spin-Transition Compounds of 5 X-Salicylaldehyde Thiosemicarbazone (X=H,Cl, Br)

The iron(III) spin-crossover compounds [Fe(Hthsa)(thsa)] ⋅ H₂O ( 1 ), [Fe(Hth5Clsa)(th5Clsa)₂] ⋅ H₂O ( 2 ), and [Fe(Hth5Brsa)(th5Brsa)₂] ⋅ H₂O ( 3 ) (H₂thsa=salicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazone, H₂th5Clsa=5-chlorosalicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazone, and H₂th5Brsa=5-bromosalicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazone) have been synthesized and their spin-transition properties investigated by magnetic susceptibility, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The three compounds exhibit an abrupt spin transition with a thermal hysteresis effect. The more polarizable the substituent on the salicylaldehyde moiety, the more complete is the transition at room temperature with an increased degree of cooperativity. The molecular structures of 1 and 2 in the high-spin state are revealed. The occurrence of the light-induced excited-spin-state trapping phenomenon appears to be dependent on the substituent incorporated into the 5-position of the salicylaldehyde subunit. Whereas the compounds with an electron-withdrawing group (-Br or -Cl) exhibit light-induced trapped excited high-spin states with great longevity of metastability, the halogen-free compound does not, even though strong intermolecular interactions (such as hydrogen-bonding networks and π stacking) operate in the system. For compound 2 , the surface level of photoconversion is less than 35 %. In contrast, compound 3 displays full photoexcitation.     

Testing an alternative search algorithm for compound identification with the ‘Wiley Registry of Tandem Mass Spectral Data,MSforID’

A tandem mass spectral database system consists of a library of reference spectra and a search program. State‐of‐the‐art search programs show a high tolerance for variability in compound‐specific fragmentation patterns produced by collision‐induced decomposition and enable sensitive and specific ‘identity search’. In this communication, performance characteristics of two search algorithms combined with the ‘Wiley Registry of Tandem Mass Spectral Data, MSforID’ (Wiley Registry MSMS, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA) were evaluated. The search algorithms tested were the MSMS search algorithm implemented in the NIST MS Search program 2.0g (NIST, Gaithersburg, MD, USA) and the MSforID algorithm (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA). Sample spectra were acquired on different instruments and, thus, covered a broad range of possible experimental conditions or were generated in silico. For each algorithm, more than 30 000 matches were performed. Statistical evaluation of the library search results revealed that principally both search algorithms can be combined with the Wiley Registry MSMS to create a reliable identification tool. It appears, however, that a higher degree of spectral similarity is necessary to obtain a correct match with the NIST MS Search program. This characteristic of the NIST MS Search program has a positive effect on specificity as it helps to avoid false positive matches (type I errors), but reduces sensitivity. Thus, particularly with sample spectra acquired on instruments differing in their setup from tandem‐in‐space type fragmentation, a comparably higher number of false negative matches (type II errors) were observed by searching the Wiley Registry MSMS. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three salts from the reactions of cysteamine and cystamine with L‐(+)‐tartaric acid

Reaction between cysteamine (systematic name: 2‐aminoethanethiol, C₂H₇NS) and L‐(+)‐tartaric acid [systematic name: (2R,3R)‐2,3‐dihydroxybutanedioic acid, C₄H₆O₆] results in a mixture of cysteamine tartrate(1−) monohydrate, C₂H₈NS⁺·C₄H₅O₆⁻·H₂O, (I), and cystamine bis[tartrate(1−)] dihydrate, C₄H₁₄N₂S₂²⁺·2C₄H₅O₆⁻·2H₂O, (III). Cystamine [systematic name: 2,2′‐dithiobis(ethylamine), C₄H₁₂N₂S₂], reacts with L‐(+)‐tartaric acid to produce a mixture of cystamine tartrate(2−), C₄H₁₄N₂S₂²⁺·C₄H₄O₆²⁻, (II), and (III). In each crystal structure, the anions are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds that run parallel to the a axis. In addition, hydrogen bonding involving protonated amino groups in all three salts, and water molecules in (I) and (III), leads to extensive three‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonding networks. All three salts crystallize in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁.     

Alkyl levulinates as `green chemistry' precursors: butane‐1,4‐diyl bis(4‐oxopentanoate) and hexane‐1,6‐diyl bis(4‐oxopentanoate)

Levulinic acid derivatives are potential `green chemistry' renewably sourced molecules with utility in industrial coatings applications. Suitable single crystals of the centrosymmetric title compounds, C₁₄H₂₂O₆ and C₁₆H₂₆O₆, respectively, were obtained with difficulty. The data for the latter hexane‐1,6‐diyl compound were extracted from the major fragment of a three‐component twinned crystal. Both compounds crystallize in similar‐sized unit cells with identical symmetry, utilizing the same weak nonconventional attractive C—H...O(ketone) hydrogen bonds via C(4) and C(5) motifs, which expand to R²₂(30) ring and C²₂(14) chain motifs. Their different packing orientations in similar‐sized unit cells suggest that crystal growth involving packing mixes could lead to intergrowths or twins.     

Conformational Isomerism in Monomeric,Low‐Coordinate Group 12 Complexes Stabilized by a Naphthyl‐Substituted m‐Terphenyl Ligand

The synthesis and characterization of the first series of low‐coordinate bis(terphenyl) complexes of the Group 12 metals, [Zn(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 1 ), [Cd(OEt₂)(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 2 ) and [Hg(OEt₂)(2,6‐Naph₂C₆H₃)₂] ( 3 ) (Naph=1‐C₁₀H₇) are described. The naphthyl substituents of the terphenyl ligands confer considerable steric bulk, and as a result of limited flexibility introduce multiple conformations to these unusual systems. In the solid state, complex 1 features a two‐coordinate Zn centre with the ligands oriented in a syn/anti conformation, whereas the three‐coordinate distorted T‐shaped complexes 2 and 3 feature the ligands in the syn/syn configurations. The results of DFT calculations are in good agreement with the solid‐state configurations for these complexes and support the spectroscopic measurements, which indicate several conformers in solution.     

Degenerate quantum codes for Pauli channels

A striking feature of quantum error correcting codes is that they can sometimes be used to correct more errors than they can uniquely identify. Such degenerate codes have long been known, but have remained poorly understood. We provide a heuristic for designing degenerate quantum codes for high noise rates, which is applied to generate codes that can be used to communicate over almost any Pauli channel at rates that are impossible for a nondegenerate code. The gap between nondegenerate and degenerate code performance is quite large, in contrast to the tiny magnitude of the only previous demonstration of this effect. We also identify a channel for which none of our codes outperform the best nondegenerate code and show that it is nevertheless quite unlike any channel for which nondegenerate codes are known to be optimal.     

Inherent Ethyl Acetate Selectivity in a Trianglimine Molecular Solid

Ethyl acetate is an important chemical raw material and solvent. It is also a key volatile organic compound in the brewing industry and a marker for lung cancer. Materials that are highly selective toward ethyl acetate are needed for its separation and detection. Here, we report a trianglimine macrocycle ( TAMC ) that selectively adsorbs ethyl acetate by forming a solvate. Crystal structure prediction showed this to be the lowest energy solvate structure available. This solvate leaves a metastable, “templated” cavity after solvent removal. Adsorption and breakthrough experiments confirmed that TAMC has adequate adsorption kinetics to separate ethyl acetate from azeotropic mixtures with ethanol, which is a challenging and energy-intensive industrial separation.     

Programmable Polymer‐Based Supramolecular Temperature Sensor with a Memory Function

A new class of polymeric thermometers with a memory function is reported that is based on the supramolecular host–guest interactions of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) with side‐chain naphthalene guest moieties and the tetracationic macrocycle cyclobis(paraquat‐p‐phenylene) (CBPQT⁴⁺) as the host. This supramolecular thermometer exhibits a memory function for the thermal history of the solution, which arises from the large hysteresis of the thermoresponsive LCST phase transition (LCST=lower critical solution temperature). This hysteresis is based on the formation of a metastable soluble state that consists of the PNIPAM–CBPQT⁴⁺ host–guest complex. When heated above the transition temperature, the polymer collapses, and the host–guest interactions are disrupted, making the polymer more hydrophobic and less soluble in water. Aside from providing fundamental insights into the kinetic control of supramolecular assemblies, the developed thermometer with a memory function might find use in applications spanning the physical and biological sciences.