Application of HPLC-Thermospray Flame AAS: Interaction Between Heavy Metals and Duckweed Chlorophyll

Thermospray nebulizer interfaced HPLC-Flame AAS was used to study the effect of heavy metals (Al, Cd, Cu, Hg and Zn) on the chlorophylls of duckweed. Flame AAS was used as a metal specific detector of HPLC. Study indicated that heavy metals promote the degradation of chlorophylls. No evidence of direct replacement of central magnesium with heavy metals was found.     

Coordination and extraction properties of new bis- and tetrakis(diphenylphosphoryl)-substituted pyrazines towards f-block elements

2,3-Bis- and 2,3,5,6-tetrakis(diphenylphosphoryl)-substituted pyrazines have been synthesized from the corresponding polychloropyrazines and ethyl diphenylphosphinite. They may serve as new N,O-bidentate organophosphorus ligands for extraction and recovery of f-block metal ions from nitric acid solutions.     

Hydroxy double salts intercalated with Mn(II) complexes as potential contrast agents

A series of Mn(II) aminophosphonate complexes were successfully synthesized and intercalated into the hydroxy double salt [Zn₅(OH)₈]Cl₂·yH₂O. Complex incorporation led to an increase in the interlayer spacing from 7.8 to 10–12 Å. Infrared spectroscopy showed the presence of the characteristic vibration peaks of the Mn(II) complexes in the intercalates' spectra, indicating successful incorporation. The complex-loaded composites had somewhat lower proton relaxivities than the pure complexes. Nevertheless, these intercalates may have use as MRI contrast agents for patients with poor kidney function, where traditional Gd(III)-based contrast agents cause severe renal failure.     

Tuning the Triplet Excited State of Bis(dipyrrin) Zinc(II) Complexes: Symmetry Breaking Charge Transfer Architecture with Exceptionally Long Lived Triplet State for Upconversion

Zinc(II) bis(dipyrrin) complexes, which feature intense visible absorption and efficient symmetry breaking charge transfer (SBCT) are outstanding candidates for photovoltaics but their short lived triplet states limit applications in several areas. Herein we demonstrate that triplet excited state dynamics of bis(dipyrrin) complexes can be efficiently tuned by attaching electron donating aryl moieties at the 5,5′-position of the complexes. For the first time, a long lived triplet excited state (τ_T=296 μs) along with efficient ISC ability (Φ_Δ=71 %) was observed for zinc(II) bis(dipyrrin) complexes, formed via SBCT. The results revealed that molecular geometry and energy gap between the charge transfer (CT) state and triplet energy levels strongly control the triplet excited state properties of the complexes. An efficient triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion system was devised for the first time using a SBCT architecture as triplet photosensitizer, reaching a high upconversion quantum yield of 6.2 %. Our findings provide a blueprint for the development of triplet photosensitizers based on earth abundant metal complexes with long lived triplet state for revolutionary photochemical applications.     

Behavior of metal complexes of polyacrylic acid in solutions

Metal complexes of polyacrylic acid containing Li, Li, and Cu, or Li and Zn have been studied in saline aqueous solutions using molecular hydrodynamics and light scattering methods. Intrinsic viscosities, weight-average molar masses, hydrodynamic radii, and radii of gyration were obtained. It was shown that the macromolecules of polymetalloacrylates containing divalent metals form small and large supramolecular structures, their dimensions, and composition being dependent on the ionic strength of the solution.     

Reversible and Stepwise Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Transformation of a Platinum(II) Complex with Vapochromic Luminescence

The vapochromic single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformation of a highly luminescent Pt^II complex bearing an N-heterocyclic carbene [Pt(CN)₂(tBu-impy)] (tBu-impyH⁺=1-tert-butyl-3-(2-pyridyl)-1H-imidazolium) is reported. The trihydrate form of the complex, which exhibits blue ³MMLCT emission owing to weak Pt⋅⋅⋅Pt interactions, changed its luminescence color from blue to yellowish-green upon the desorption of water molecules while keeping the high emission quantum yield of more than 0.45. Variable-temperature and continuous in-situ tracking of single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the SCSC transformation proceeds reversibly by the release and reabsorption of water molecules, thereby changing the stacked structure slightly. As a result, the dynamics of vapor-induced SCSC transformation were elucidated: that the anhydrous form returned to the original trihydrate form in a two-step process under a water vapor atmosphere. In addition, the Pt^II complex exhibited a similar SCSC response accompanied by a luminescence color change in the presence of methanol vapor, while being inactive toward ethanol vapor.     

Uniform random colored complexes

We present here random distributions on (D + 1)‐edge‐colored, bipartite graphs with a fixed number of vertices 2p. These graphs encode D‐dimensional orientable colored complexes. We investigate the behavior of those graphs as p→∞. The techniques involved in this study also yield a Central Limit Theorem for the genus of a uniform map of order p, as p→∞.     

Recent advances of organometallic complexes in emerging photovoltaics

Organometallic complexes (OMCs) consisting of organic and metal active moieties have shown immense potential for application in solar cells. The diverse structure, rich porosity, and unique charge centers of OMCs enable them to be functional in solar cells. In this review, we introduced four types of OMCs, such as crown organometallic complexes, β-diketone metal complexes, cyclometallic complexes, and main chain metal-containing polymers, providing an in-depth analysis of the structure-performance relationship. OMCs could serve as active or interlayer materials in a variety of solar cell systems such as organic solar cells, perovskite solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells, especially some metals to improve the photoelectric performance of the device as dopants. In the end, perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of OMCs are given.