The triclinic polymorph of di­bromo[(–)‐sparteine‐κ2N,N′]­zinc(II)

The title compound, [ZnBr₂(C₁₅H₂₆N₂)], when synthesized starting from Zn⁰, is obtained in two polymorphic forms, one belonging to space group P2₁2₁2₁ and one to P1. The present contribution deals with the triclinic phase, which is isostructural with the orthorhombic form but presents a larger metal–metal intermolecular separation; the Zn⃛Zn distance is 7.4715 (6) Å for the triclinic polymorph as opposed to 6.534 Å for the orthorhombic polymorph.     

Polystachyne F, a 5,10-seco-neoclerodane from Salvia polystachya

A new 5,10-seco-neoclerodane diterpene, polystachyne F (1), was isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia polystachya. Its structure was established on the basis of its spectroscopic properties and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Some correlations in the NOESY spectrum of 1 suggested the existence of a conformational equilibrium.     

Second harmonic generation by micropowders: a revision of the Kurtz–Perry method and its practical application

We theoretically study the second harmonic generation by powder crystal monolayers and by thick samples of crystalline powder with particle size in the range of microns. Contrary to usual treatments, the light scattering by the particles is explicitly introduced in the model. The cases of powder in air and in an index-matching liquid under the most common experimental geometries are considered. Special attention is paid to the possibility of determining the value of some nonlinear optical coefficients from the experiments. The limitations and shortcomings of the classical Kurtz and Perry method (Kurtz and Perry in J Appl Phys 39:3798, 1968) and the most common practical misuses of it are discussed. It is argued that many of the experimental works based on that method oversimplify the technique and contain important errors. In order to obtain reliable values of the nonlinear coefficients, an appropriate experimental configuration and analysis of the data are pointed out. The analysis is especially simple in the case of uniaxial phase-matchable materials for which simple analytical expressions are derived.     

Structural rearrangements and magic numbers in reactions between pyridine-containing water clusters and ammonia

Molecular cluster ions H(+)(H(2)O)(n), H(+)(pyridine)(H(2)O)(n), H(+)(pyridine)(2)(H(2)O)(n), and H(+)(NH(3))(pyridine)(H(2)O)(n) (n = 16-27) and their reactions with ammonia have been studied experimentally using a quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Abundance spectra, evaporation spectra, and reaction branching ratios display magic numbers for H(+)(NH(3))(pyridine)(H(2)O)(n) and H(+)(NH(3))(pyridine)(2)(H(2)O)(n) at n = 18, 20, and 27. The reactions between H(+)(pyridine)(m)(H(2)O)(n) and ammonia all seem to involve intracluster proton transfer to ammonia, thus giving clusters of high stability as evident from the loss of several water molecules from the reacting cluster. The pattern of the observed magic numbers suggest that H(+)(NH(3))(pyridine)(H(2)O)(n) have structures consisting of a NH(4)(+)(H(2)O)(n) core with the pyridine molecule hydrogen-bonded to the surface of the core. This is consistent with the results of high-level ab initio calculations of small protonated pyridine/ammonia/water clusters.     

Self‐Assembly Studies of a Chiral Bisurea‐Based Superhydrogelator

A chiral bisurea‐based superhydrogelator that is capable of forming supramolecular hydrogels at concentrations as low as 0.2 mM is reported. This soft material has been characterized by thermal studies, rheology, X‐ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and by various spectroscopic techniques (electronic and vibrational circular dichroism and by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy). The expression of chirality on the molecular and supramolecular levels has been studied and a clear amplification of its chirality into the achiral analogue has been observed. Furthermore, thermal analysis showed that the hydrogelation of compound 1 has a high response to temperature, which corresponds to an enthalpy‐driven self‐assembly process. These particular thermal characteristics make these materials easy to handle for soft‐application technologies.