Unimolecular Gas-Phase Oxidation of Terminal Hydroxy Groups in [FeO(CH2)nOH]+ Complexes (n = 2–8). A Case for O?H Bond Activation by Late Transition-Metal Ions. Preliminary Communication

In contrast to Fe⁺/diol complexes, gas-phase dehydrogenation of the corresponding Fe^II alkoxides, [FeO(CH₂)_nCH₂OH]⁺, is a highly specific process in the course of which oxidation of the terminal OH group takes place. Based on labeling studies, this is the exclusive mechanism for n = 2 and 3 (Scheme: path ); for higher homologues, as for example [FeOf(CH₂)₇CH₂OH]⁺, the labeling data demonstrate that an additional mechanism is operative, involving the dehydrogenation of internal positions of the alkyl chain (path ). The Fe⁺-mediated oxidation –CH₂OH → –CHO +H₂: constitutes one of the rare examples of O-H bond activation by late cationic transition-metal ions.     

High resolution electron attachment to CO₂ clusters

Electron attachment to CO? clusters performed at high energy resolution (0.1 eV) is studied for the first time in the extended electron energy range from threshold (0 eV) to about 10 eV. Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to single molecules yields O(-) as the only fragment ion arising from the well known (2)Π(u) shape resonance (ion yield centered at 4.4 eV) and a core excited resonance (at 8.2 eV). On proceeding to CO? clusters, non-dissociated complexes of the form (CO?)(n)(-) including the monomer CO?(-) are generated as well as solvated fragment ions of the form (CO?)(n)O(-). The non-decomposed complexes appear already within a resonant feature near threshold (0 eV) and also within a broad contribution between 1 and 4 eV which is composed of two resonances observed for example for (CO?)(4)(-) at 2.2 eV and 3.1 eV (peak maxima). While the complexes observed around 3.1 eV are generated via the (2)Π(u) resonance as precursor with subsequent intracluster relaxation, the contribution around 2.2 eV can be associated with a resonant scattering feature, recently discovered in single CO? in the selective excitation of the higher energy member of the well known Fermi dyad [M. Allan, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2001, 87, 0332012]. Formation of (CO?)(n)(-) in the threshold region involves vibrational Feshbach resonances (VFRs) as previously discovered via an ultrahigh resolution (1 meV) laser photoelectron attachment method [E. Leber, S. Barsotti, I. I. Fabrikant, J. M. Weber, M.-W. Ruf and H. Hotop, Eur. Phys. J. D, 2000, 12, 125]. The complexes (CO?)(n)O(-) clearly arise from DEA at an individual molecule within the cluster involving both the (2)Π(u) and the core excited resonance.     

From dysfunction to bis-function: on the design and applications of functionalised ionic liquids

Some of the recent developments concerning the synthesis, properties and applications of functionalised ionic liquids are highlighted. Various strategies are presented, including functionalisation of the cation, anion or both cation and anion in the same ionic liquid, leading to what has been termed dual-functionalised ionic liquids. Particular attention is given to the application of functionalised ionic liquids as reaction media, to stabilise nanoparticles/modify surfaces and to generate porous materials.     

Singular superspaces

We introduce a wide category of superspaces, called locally finitely generated, which properly includes supermanifolds, but enjoys much stronger permanence properties, as are prompted by applications. Namely, it is closed under taking finite fibre products (i.e. is finitely complete) and thickenings by spectra of Weil superalgebras. Nevertheless, in this category, morphisms with values in a supermanifold are still given in terms of coordinates. This framework gives a natural notion of relative supermanifolds over a locally finitely generated base. Moreover, the existence of inner homs, whose source is the spectrum of a Weil superalgebra, is established; they are generalisations of the Weil functors defined for smooth manifolds.     

Electron impact ionization cross sections of beryllium and beryllium hydrides

We report calculated electron impact ionization cross sections (EICSs) for beryllium (Be) and some of its hydrides from the ionization threshold to 1 keV using the Deutsch-Märk (DM) and the Binary-Encounter-Bethe (BEB) formalisms. The positions of the maxima of the DM and BEB cross sections are very close in each case while the DM cross section values at the maxima are consistently higher. Our calculations for Be are in qualitative agreement with results from earlier calculations (convergent close-coupling, R matrix, distorted-wave and plane-wave Born approximation) in the low energy region. For the various beryllium hydrides, we know of no other available data. The maximum cross section values for the various compounds range from 4.0 × 10^?16 to 9.4 × 10^?16 cm² at energies of 44 to 56 eV for the DM cross sections and 3.0 × 10^?16 to 5.4 × 10^?16 cm² at energies of 40.5 to 60 eV for the BEB cross sections.     

Synthesis of oligothiophene-bridged bisporphyrins and study of the linkage dependence of the electronic coupling

A set of twelve porphyrin dimers has been prepared to give information on how the type of connectivity between a porphyrin core and a bridge can influence the interporphyrin electronic interaction. The new porphyrin systems are substituted directly at the meso position with an oligothiophene chain tethered either with a single C-C sigma bond, a trans ethylenyl group, or a acetylenyl group. The compounds are easily obtained by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions (Stille, Heck, and Sonogashira) between 5-iodo-10,15,20-(3,5-ditert-butylphenyl)porphyrin and the appropriate oligothiophene derivative. This synthetic approach is straightforward and very effective for preparing oligothiophene-based prophyrin systems. The absorption spectra and the fluorescence properties of the dimers demonstrated the crucial importance of the characteristics of the chemical bond used to connect the bridge to the porphyrin unit. The magnitude of the electronic communication can thus be significantly modulated by altering the type of bond connectivity used to link the chromophore to the bridge. The present work shows that an oligothiophene spacer is a viable class of linker for connecting porphyrins, and that a quaterthiophene appended with ethynyl linkages affords a high electronic interaction over a distance as large as 28 A. A detailed computational study of these dimers has clarified the conditions needed for a conjugated system to behave as a molecular wire. These conditions are full planarity of the molecule and proper energy matching between the frontier orbitals of the bridge and the porphyrin. Intermolecular energy transfer in asymmetrical dyads composed of a zinc porphyrin and a freebase porphyrin has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. In all systems, this process is more than 98% efficient, and its rate constant decreases steadily in the order 4ZH > 1ZH > 3ZH approximately 2ZH. Thus, the largest rate (kEnT = 1.2 x 10(11) s-1) was found in the dyad linked with bisethynyl quaterthiophene, which represents the longest bridge within the series. These results clearly demonstrate that strong communication and also efficient photoinduced processes can be promoted over a large distance if the electronic structure of the molecular connector is appropriately chosen.