Synthesis, crystal structures, luminescent and magnetic properties of homodinuclear lanthanide complexes with a flexible tripodal carboxylate ligand

Six new homodinuclear lanthanide(III) complexes with a flexible tripodal carboxylate ligand (H(3)L), of formulae [Ln(2)L(2)(DMF)(4)]·4DMF (Ln = La (1), Nd (2), Eu (3), Gd (4), Tb (5), Dy (6), DMF = N, N-Dimethylformamide) have been synthesized. Among them, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, which crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n with a = 13.309(2) ?, b = 27.404(4) ?, c = 16.686(3) ?, β = 105.115(2) and V = 5875.2(17) ?(3) for 1, a = 13.3016(5) ?, b = 27.1952(12) ?, c = 16.6339(7) ?, β = 105.030(2) and V = 5811.3(4) ?(3) for 2, a = 13.2797(10) ?, b = 27.072(2) ?, c = 16.6564(13) ?, β = 104.9390(10) and V = 5785.7(8) ?(3) for 3, a = 13.2855(3) ?, b = 27.0074(6) ?, c = 16.6357(3) ?, β = 104.9790(10) and V = 5766.2(2) ?(3) for 4, a = 13.2837(5) ?, b = 26.9105(10) ?, c = 16.6066(6) ?, β = 104.917(2) and V = 5736.3(4) ?(3) for 6. The crystal structures reveal that these complexes are isostructural, and molecules are connected from 0D to 3D supramolecular structures by hydrogen bonds. All of them were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, XRD and TGA. Unusually, non-luminescent Tb(III) complex was obtained. The photophysical property of the Eu(III) complex and the magnetic property of Gd(III) complex are investigated and discussed in detail.     

Molecule-substrate interaction channels of metal-phthalocyanines on graphene on Ni(111) surface

Molecule-substrate interaction channels of metal-phthalocyanines (MPcs, including NiPc, CuPc, ZnPc, FePc, and CoPc) on graphene on Ni(111) were investigated by employing high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). Except the expected IR-active modes, some Raman-active modes were also observed in all of MPcs, which are considered in this study. From the origination of the Raman-active features, it was deduced that MPcs are coupled with the substrate mainly through their central metal atom. The Raman-active modes appear as symmetric peaks in the HREELS in the case of MPcs with Ni, Cu, and Zn, whereas they are asymmetric and appear as a Fano line shape in the case of MPcs with Fe and Co. This spectroscopic difference indicates that the molecule-substrate coupling is completely different in the two cases mentioned above. The molecule-substrate interaction strength is considerably weak and comparable with the π-π interaction between molecules in the case of MPcs with Ni, Cu, and Zn, whereas it is much stronger in the case of MPcs with Fe and Co. From the HREELS observations, it can be suggested that the whole molecule can be effectively decoupled from the underneath Ni(111) by inserting a single layer of graphene between them in the case of MPcs with Ni, Cu, and Zn, whereas only benzene rings can be completely decoupled in the case of MPcs with Fe and Co.     

Synthesis of high-silica EU-1 zeolite in the presence of hexamethonium ions: a seeded approach for inhibiting ZSM-48

A seeded approach was developed to synthesize high-silica EU-1 zeolite via inhibiting the co-crystallization of ZSM-48 in the presence of hexamethonium (HM) ions. A systematic study was carried out to determine factors such as seed content and SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) ratio, which influenced the crystallization of high-silica EU-1 and transformation of EU-1 into ZSM-48. Using EU-1 seeds, not only well-crystallized pure EU-1 zeolites with SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) ratios more than 500 were synthesized, but also the co-crystalline of ZSM-48/EU-1 or pure ZSM-48 was obtained in control from silica-rich mixture gels. Furthermore, the kinetic features of the seeded synthesis of EU-1 zeolites with SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) ratios of 55, 190, and 500 were examined. It was found that seeds played crucial roles in the decrease of apparent activation energy of EU-1 nucleation and inhibiting the transformation of EU-1 into ZSM-48. The HM and Al species performed synergistic roles to inhibit the formation ZSM-48 during high-silica EU-1 nucleation and crystal growth.     

Free-standing mesoporous carbon thin films with highly ordered pore architectures for nanodevices

We report for the first time the synthesis of free-standing mesoporous carbon films with highly ordered pore architecture by a simple coating-etching approach, which have an intact morphology with variable sizes as large as several square centimeters and a controllable thickness of 90 nm to ～3 μm. The mesoporous carbon films were first synthesized by coating a resol precursors/Pluronic copolymer solution on a preoxidized silicon wafer and forming highly ordered polymeric mesostructures based on organic-organic self-assembly, followed by carbonizing at 600 °C and finally etching of the native oxide layer between the carbon film and the silicon substrate. The mesostructure of this free-standing carbon film is confirmed to be an ordered face-centered orthorhombic Fmmm structure, distorted from the (110) oriented body-centered cubic Im3?m symmetry. The mesoporosity of the carbon films has been evaluated by nitrogen sorption, which shows a high specific BET surface area of 700 m(2)/g and large uniform mesopores of ～4.3 nm. Both mesostructures and pore sizes can be tuned by changing the block copolymer templates or the ratio of resol to template. These free-standing mesoporous carbon films with cracking-free uniform morphology can be transferred or bent on different surfaces, especially with the aid of the soft polymer layer transfer technique, thus allowing for a variety of potential applications in electrochemistry and biomolecule separation. As a proof of concept, an electrochemical supercapacitor device directly made by the mesoporous carbon thin films shows a capacitance of 136 F/g at 0.5 A/g. Moreover, a nanofilter based on the carbon films has shown an excellent size-selective filtration of cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin.     

1D and 2D supramolecular structures of silver carborane dicyclohexylphosphine complexes constructed by C-H?H-B dihydrogen bonding interactions

Five new carborane dicyclohexylphosphine complexes, [Ag₂(μ-I)₂{1,2-(P Cy₂)₂-1,2-C₂B₁₀H₁₀}₂] (1), [Ag₂(SCN)₂{1,2-(PCy₂)₂-1,2-C₂B₁₀H₁₀}₂]_n·CH₂Cl₂ (2), [Ag(ClO₄){1,2-(PCy₂)₂-1,2-C₂B₁₀H₁₀}]·CH₂Cl₂ (3), [Ag₂(μ-NO₃)₂{1,2-(PCy₂)₂-1,2-C₂B₁₀H₁₀}₂]·CH₂Cl₂ (4) and [Ag(SC₆H₄COOH){1,2-(PCy₂)₂-1,2-C₂B₁₀H₁₀}₂]·CH₂Cl₂ (5), have been synthesized by the reactions of 1,2-bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane with AgX (X = I, SCN, ClO_4, NO₃ and SC₆H₄COOH) in CH₂Cl₂. The structures of the five complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹B and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. X-ray structure analysis revealed that the structures of the complexes can be classified into three types. Complexes 1 and 4 are di-μ-X-bridged structures and complexes 3 and 5 are mononuclear structures, while complex 2 is a chain-like polymer. Complexes 1 and 2 form 2D supramolecular networks and complexes 3, 4 and 5 form 1D chains via C-H?H-B dihydrogen bonding interactions.     

Crystal structures, lattice potential energies, and thermochemical properties of crystalline compounds (1-C(n)H(2n+1)NH3)2ZnCl4(s) (n = 8, 10, 12, and 13)

As part of our ongoing project involving the study of (1-C(n)H(2n+1)NH(3))(2)MCl(4)(s) (where M is a divalent metal ion and n = 8-18), we have synthesized the compounds (1-C(n)H(2n+1)NH(3))(2)ZnCl(4)(s) (n = 8, 10, 12, and 13), and the details of the structures are reported herein. All of the compounds were crystallized in the monoclinic form with the space group P2(1)/n for (1-C(8)H(17)NH(3))(2)ZnCl(4)(s), P21/c for (1-C(10)H(21)NH(3))(2)ZnCl(4)(s), P2(1)/c for (1-C(12)H(25)NH(3))(2)ZnCl(4)(s), and P2(1)/m for (1-C(13)H(27)NH(3))(2)ZnCl(4)(s). The lattice potential energies and ionic volumes of the cations and the common anion of the title compounds were obtained from crystallographic data. Molar enthalpies of dissolution of the four compounds at various molalities were measured at 298.15 K in the double-distilled water. According to Pitzer's theory, molar enthalpies of dissolution of the title compounds at infinite dilution were obtained. Finally, using the values of molar enthalpies of dissolution at infinite dilution (Δ(s)H(m)(∞)) and other auxiliary thermodynamic data, the enthalpy change of the dissociation of [ZnCl(4)](2-)(g) for the reaction [ZnCl(4)](2-)(g)→ Zn(2+)(g) + 4Cl(-)(g) was obtained, and then the hydration enthalpies of cations were calculated by designing a thermochemical cycle.     

Rational design of 3D dendritic TiO2 nanostructures with favorable architectures

Controlling the morphology and size of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanostructures is crucial to obtain superior photocatalytic, photovoltaic, and electrochemical properties. However, the synthetic techniques for preparing such structures, especially those with complex configurations, still remain a challenge because of the rapid hydrolysis of Ti-containing polymer precursors in aqueous solution. Herein, we report a completely novel approach-three-dimensional (3D) TiO(2) nanostructures with favorable dendritic architectures-through a simple hydrothermal synthesis. The size of the 3D TiO(2) dendrites and the morphology of the constituent nano-units, in the form of nanorods, nanoribbons, and nanowires, are controlled by adjusting the precursor hydrolysis rate and the surfactant aggregation. These novel configurations of TiO(2) nanostructures possess higher surface area and superior electrochemical properties compared to nanoparticles with smooth surfaces. Our findings provide an effective solution for the synthesis of complex TiO(2) nano-architectures, which can pave the way to further improve the energy storage and energy conversion efficiency of TiO(2)-based devices.     

氮杂金属冠醚的研究进展

氮杂金属冠醚(Azametallacrown,azaMC)以M-N-N为重复单元,主要由五齿的N-酰基酰肼阴离子配体与金属盐通过自组装而成,包括aza18-MC-6、aza24-MC-8、aza30-MC-10、aza36-MC-12、aza45-MC-15、aza60-MC-20等类型。它们不仅呈现出独特的物理性能和生物活性,而且还能作为“第二构筑单元（Second Building Units,SBUs）”构筑一系列金属冠醚配位聚合物。本文对氮杂金属冠醚的结构特征、分类及性质等进行综述。