Oligomeric carbocation-like species from protonation of chloroalkanes

The protonation of chloroethane by the strongest known solid superacid, the carborane acid H(CHB(11)Cl(11)), has been studied by quantitative IR spectroscopic methods to track mass balance and uncover previously unobserved chemistry. In the first step, an intermediate EtCl·H(CHB(11)Cl(11)) species without full proton transfer to EtCl can be observed when d(5)-deuterated chloroethane is used. It rapidly eliminates HCl (but not DCl) to form ethyl carborane, Et(CHB(11)Cl(11)), which binds a second molecule of chloroethane to form the Et(2)Cl(+) chloronium ion. This undergoes a slower, previously unrecognized HCl elimination reaction to form a butyl carborane, Bu(CHB(11)Cl(11)), beginning an oligomerization process whereby unsymmetrical dialkylchloronium ions decompose to alkyl carboranes of formula Bu(C(2)H(4))(n)(CHB(11)Cl(11)) up to n = 4. Over time, a parallel competing process of de-oligomerization take place in the presence of free carborane acid that finishes with the formation of hexyl or butyl carboranes. Upon heating to 150 C, the final products are all converted to the remarkably stable tert-butyl cation carborane salt.     

Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy of copper carbonyl cations

Copper carbonyl cations of the form Cu(CO)(n)(+) (n = 1-8) are produced in a molecular beam via laser vaporization in a pulsed nozzle source. Mass-selected infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the carbonyl stretching region is used to study these ions and their argon "tagged" analogues. The geometries and electronic states of these complexes are determined by the number of infrared-active bands, their frequency positions, and their relative intensities compared to the predictions of theory. Cu(CO)(4)(+) has a completed coordination sphere, consistent with its expected 18-electron stability. It also has a tetrahedral structure similar to that of its neutral isoelectronic analog Ni(CO)(4). The carbonyl stretch in Cu(CO)(4)(+) (2198 cm(-1)) is blue-shifted with respect to the free CO vibration (2143 cm(-1)), providing evidence that this is a "non-classical" metal carbonyl.     

Triosmium clusters on a support: determination of structure by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and high-resolution microscopy

The structures of small, robust metal clusters on a solid support were determined by a combination of spectroscopic and microscopic methods: extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and aberration‐corrected STEM. The samples were synthesized from [Os₃(CO)₁₂] on MgO powder to provide supported clusters intended to be triosmium. The results demonstrate that the supported clusters are robust in the absence of oxidants. Conventional high‐angle annular dark‐field (HAADF) STEM images demonstrate a high degree of uniformity of the clusters, with root‐mean‐square (rms) radii of 2.03±0.06 Å. The EXAFS Os? Os coordination number of 2.1±0.4 confirms the presence of triosmium clusters on average and correspondingly determines an average rms cluster radius of 2.02±0.04 Å. The high‐resolution STEM images show the individual Os atoms in the clusters, confirming the triangular structures of their frames and determining Os? Os distances of 2.80±0.14 Å, matching the EXAFS value of 2.89±0.06 Å. IR and EXAFS spectra demonstrate the presence of CO ligands on the clusters. This set of techniques is recommended as optimal for detailed and reliable structural characterization of supported clusters.     

Temporal modulation transfer functions for listeners with real and simulated hearing loss

A functional simulation of hearing loss was evaluated in its ability to reproduce the temporal modulation transfer functions (TMTFs) for nine listeners with mild to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Each hearing loss was simulated in a group of three age-matched normal-hearing listeners through spectrally shaped masking noise or a combination of masking noise and multiband expansion. TMTFs were measured for both groups of listeners using a broadband noise carrier as a function of modulation rate in the range 2 to 1024 Hz. The TMTFs were fit with a lowpass filter function that provided estimates of overall modulation-depth sensitivity and modulation cutoff frequency. Although the simulations were capable of accurately reproducing the threshold elevations of the hearing-impaired listeners, they were not successful in reproducing the TMTFs. On average, the simulations resulted in lower sensitivity and higher cutoff frequency than were observed in the TMTFs of the hearing-impaired listeners. Discrepancies in performance between listeners with real and simulated hearing loss are possibly related to inaccuracies in the simulation of recruitment.     

Modulation of the absorption coefficient at 1.3 μm in Ge/SiGe multiple quantum well heterostructures on silicon

We report modulation of the absorption coefficient at 1.3?μm in Ge/SiGe multiple quantum well heterostructures on silicon via the quantum-confined Stark effect. Strain engineering was exploited to increase the direct optical bandgap in the Ge quantum wells. We grew 9?nm-thick Ge quantum wells on a relaxed Si0.22Ge0.78 buffer and a contrast in the absorption coefficient of a factor of greater than 3.2 was achieved in the spectral range 1290-1315?nm.     

Synthesis and structure of a hexacoordinate carbon compound

In an exploration of six coordination and hypervalence in carbon compounds, steric constraints have been employed to bring four ether O atoms in close proximity to an allenic carbon atom. The dimethylated dication 2 is confirmed to have hexacoordinate carbon by experimental charge density analysis and DFT calculations and is arguably hypervalent.     

The nature of the hydrated proton H(aq)+ in organic solvents

The nature of H(H2O)n(+) cations for n = 3-8 with weakly basic carborane counterions has been studied by IR spectroscopy in benzene and dichloroethane solution. Contrary to general expectation, neither Eigen-type H3O x 3 H2O(+) nor Zundel-type H5O2(+) x 4 H2O ions are present. Rather, the core species is the H7O3(+) ion.     

Ferromagnetic ordering in bisthiaselenazolyl radicals: variations on a tetragonal theme

A series of five isostructural bisthiaselenazolyl radicals 2 have been prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The crystal structures, all belonging to the tetragonal space group P42(1)m, consist of slipped pi-stack arrays of undimerized radicals packed about 4 centers running along the z-direction, an arrangement which gives rise to a complex lattice-wide network of close intermolecular Se---Se' contacts. Variations in R1 (Et, Pr, CH2CF3) with R2 = Cl lead to significant changes in the degree of slippage of the pi-stacks and hence the proximity of the Se---Se' interactions. By contrast, variations in R2 (Cl, Br, Me) with R1 = Et induce very little change in either the degree of slippage or the intermolecular contacts. Variable-temperature conductivity (sigma) measurements show relatively constant values for the conductivity sigma(300 K) (10(-5)-10(-4) S cm(-1)) and thermal activation energy E(act) (0.27-0.31 eV). Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that radicals 2b and 2c (R1 = Pr, CH2CF3; R2 = Cl) behave as weakly antiferromagnetically coupled Curie-Weiss paramagnets, but in 2a, 2d and 2e (R1 = Et; R2 = Cl, Me, Br) ferromagnetic ordering is observed, with T(c) values of 12.8 (R2 = Cl), 13.6 (R2 = Me), and 14.1 K (R2 = Br). The origin of the dramatically different magnetic behavior across the series has been explored in terms of a direct through-space mechanism by means of DFT calculations on individual pairwise exchange energies. These indicate that antiferromagnetic exchange between radicals along the pi-stacks increases with pi-stack slippage.     

Trisphenalenyl-based neutral radical molecular conductor

We report the preparation, crystallization, and solid-state characterization of the first member of a new family of tris(1,9-disubstituted phenalenyl)silicon neutral radicals. In the solid state, the radical packs as weak partial pi-dimers with intermolecular carbon...carbon contacts that fall at the van der Waals atomic separation. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate approximately 0.7 Curie spins per molecule from room temperature down to 50 K, below which antiferromagnetic coupling becomes apparent; the compound has a room-temperature single-crystal conductivity of sigmaRT = 2.4 x 10(-6) S cm(-1).