Eshelby tensor for a crack in an orthotropic elastic medium

In the present Note, we provide new analytical expressions of the components of Hill tensor $\mathbb{P}$ (or equivalently the Eshelby tensor $\mathbb{S}$) associated to an arbitrarily oriented crack in orthotropic elastic medium. The crack is modelled as an infinite cylinder along a symmetry axis of the matrix, with low aspect ratio. The three dimensional results obtained show explicitly the interaction between the primary (structural) anisotropy and the crack-induced anisotropy. They are validated by comparison with existing results in the case where the crack is in a symmetry plane. To cite this article: C. Gruescu et al., C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

Controlling Through-Space and Through-Bond Exchange Pathways in Bis-Cobaltocenes for Molecular Spintronics

Pinching molecules via chemical strain suggests intuitive consequences, such as compression at the pinched site and clothespin-like opening of other parts of the structure. If this opening affects two spin centers, it should result in reduced communication between them. We show that for naphthalene-bridged biscobaltocenes with competing through-space and through-bond pathways, the consequences of pinching are far less intuitive: despite the known dominance of through-space interactions, the bridge plays a much larger role for exchange spin coupling than previously assumed. Based on a combination of chemical synthesis, structural, magnetic, and redox characterization, and a newly developed theoretical pathway analysis, we can suggest a comprehensive explanation for this non-intuitive behavior. These results are of interest for molecular spintronics, as naphthalene-linked cobaltocenes can form wires on surfaces for potential spin-only information transfer.     

Access to Heteroleptic Fluorido-Cyanido Complexes with a Large Magnetic Anisotropy by Fluoride Abstraction

Silicon-mediated fluoride abstraction is demonstrated as a means of generating the first fluorido-cyanido transition metal complexes. This new synthetic approach is exemplified by the synthesis and characterization of the heteroleptic complexes, trans-[M^IVF₄(CN)₂]²⁻ (M=Re, Os), obtained from their homoleptic [M^IVF₆]²⁻ parents. As shown by combined high-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetization measurements, the partial substitution of fluoride by cyanide ligands leads to a marked increase in the magnetic anisotropy of trans-[ReF₄(CN)₂]²⁻ as compared to [ReF₆]²⁻, reflecting the severe departure from an ideal octahedral (O_h point group) ligand field. This methodology paves the way toward the realization of new heteroleptic transition metal complexes that may be used as highly anisotropic building-blocks for the design of high-performance molecule-based magnetic materials.