Synthesis and Electronic Properties of Novel 5,7-Diazapentacene Derivatives

A route to the synthesis of novel 5,7-diazapentacenes and some preliminary studies on their properties is reported. A single crystal X-ray diffraction study of the dihexyl derivative showed it had formed a dimer during the analysis. The materials possess lower lying frontier orbitals than pentacene and may have potential applications in organic electronic devices. This synthetic method may be applicable to the synthesis of other azaacenes.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Selected Properties of [Au(S2CNH2)2]SCN: A Precursor for Gold Macro-Needles Consisting of Gold Nanoparticles Glued by Graphitic Carbon Nitride

A new preparation route is developed for the synthesis of needle-like crystals of [Au(S₂CNH₂)₂]SCN, which avoids disproportionation of the Au^I salt used as a starting material. In the crystal structure, the two crystallographically independent Au^III centers are in a square-planar environment of two S₂CNH₂ ligands. The Hirshfeld surface analysis reveals the presence of noncovalent intermolecular S⋅⋅⋅S interactions, which are essential for the spatial arrangement of the molecules. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations including dispersion and damping corrections result in a unit cell volume very close to the value determined experimentally. Thermal decomposition in an inert atmosphere generates black needles with lengths of up to 500 μm. X-ray powder diffraction and pair distribution function analyses demonstrate that the needles are composed of nanosized crystals with a volume-weighted average domain size of 20(1) nm. According to results of X-ray photoemission experiments, the black needles are covered by a nitrogen-rich carbon nitride with composition near (CN)₂N. ¹³C solid-state NMR investigations indicate that two different carbon species are present, with signals corresponding well to heptazine units as in melon and triazine units as in poly(triazin imide) type compounds. Scanning transmission electron microscopy tomography evidences that the needles are composed of slightly elongated nanoparticles.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the molecular structure,the spectroscopic properties and TD-DFT analysis of a new semiconductor hybrid based iron(III)

In this work, a new hybrid material (C₅H₆N₂Cl)₂[FeCl₄].Cl abbreviated (CAP)₂[FeCl₄].Cl was prepared using room temperature slow evaporation technique. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the compound is crystallized in the centrosymmetric space group P2₁/c of the monoclinic system. The crystallographic network consists of an Fe(III) ion located on an inversion center and coordinated by four chlorine, isolated Cl^– and two (CAP)⁺ protonated cations linked by N–H...Cl and C–H...Cl hydrogen bonds to form a zero-dimensional network. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to analyze intermolecular interactions present in the crystal structure. The vibrational properties were inspected by means of Infra-Red absorption and Raman diffusion spectroscopy techniques. In addition, theoretical calculations based on the DFT/B3LYP/LanL2DZ method and the time-dependent density functional theory (TD–DFT) were performed in order to gain more information and help in the examination of over-all properties of the title compound. Good and interesting experimental findings were presented and good consistency was found with the calculated results.     

Synthesis,characterization, and electrochemistry of monophosphine‐containing diiron propane‐1,2‐dithiolate complexes related to the active site of [FeFe]‐hydrogenases

Five monophosphine‐substituted diiron propane‐1,2‐dithiolate complexes as the active site models of [FeFe]‐hydrogenases have been synthesized and characterized. Reactions of complex [Fe₂(CO)₆{μ‐SCH₂CH(CH₃)S}] ( 1 ) with a monophosphine ligand tris(4‐methylphenyl)phosphine, diphenyl‐2‐pyridylphosphine, tris(4‐chlorophenyl)phosphine, triphenylphosphine, or tris(4‐fluorophenyl)phosphine in the presence of the oxidative agent Me₃NO·2H₂O gave the monophosphine‐substituted diiron complexes [Fe₂(CO)₅(L){μ‐SCH₂CH(CH₃)S}] [L = P(4‐C₆H₄CH₃)₃, 2 ; Ph₂P(2‐C₅H₄N), 3 ; P(4‐C₆H₄Cl)₃, 4 ; PPh₃, 5 ; P(4‐C₆H₄F)₃, 6 ] in 81%–94% yields. Complexes 2 – 6 have been characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopy, and X‐ray crystallography. In addition, electrochemical studies revealed that these complexes can catalyze the reduction of protons to H₂ in the presence of HOAc.     

Phosphinine-Based Ligands in Gold-Catalyzed Reactions

A series of substituted phosphinines, 1-phosphabarrelenes and 5-phosphasemibullvalenes were synthesized and evaluated for their potential application as ligands in homogeneous catalytic reactions. While their buried volume (%V_bur) was calculated to get insight into the steric properties, [LNi(CO)₃] complexes were prepared in order to determine the corresponding Tolman electronic parameter. ETS-NOCV (extended-transition-state natural orbital for chemical valence) calculations on [LAuCl] complexes further allowed an estimation of the σ- and π-contributions to the L− M interaction. Au^I coordination compounds of selected examples were prepared and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Finally, the three classes of P^III compounds were successfully used in the Au^I-catalyzed cycloisomerization of N-2-propyn-1-ylbenzamide, showing very good activities and selectivities, which are comparable with the reported data of cationic phosphorus-based gold catalysts.     

Probing the Local Magnetic Structure of the [FeIII(Tp)(CN)3]− Building Block Via Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy,Polarized Neutron Diffraction,and First-Principle Calculations

The local magnetic structure in the [Fe^III(Tp)(CN)₃]⁻ building block was investigated by combining paramagnetic Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (pNMR) spectroscopy and polarized neutron diffraction (PND) with first-principle calculations. The use of the pNMR and PND experimental techniques revealed the extension of spin-density from the metal to the ligands, as well as the different spin mechanisms that take place in the cyanido ligands: Spin-polarization on the carbon atoms and spin-delocalization on the nitrogen atoms. The results of our combined density functional theory (DFT) and multireference calculations were found in good agreement with the PND results and the experimental NMR chemical shifts. Moreover, the ab-initio calculations allowed us to connect the experimental spin-density map characterized by PND and the suggested distribution of the spin-density on the ligands observed by NMR spectroscopy. Interestingly, significant differences were observed between the pseudo-contact contributions of the chemical shifts obtained by theoretical calculations and the values derived from NMR spectroscopy using a simple point-dipole model. These discrepancies underline the limitation of the point-dipole model and the need for more elaborate approaches to break down the experimental pNMR chemical shifts into contact and pseudo-contact contributions.     

New Type of Columnar Liquid Crystal Superlattice in Double-Taper Ionic Minidendrons

Wedge-shaped molecules, such as dendrons, are among the most important building blocks for directed supramolecular self-assembly. Here we present a new approach aimed at widening the range and complexity of potential mesophases by introducing double-tapered mesogens. Two series of compounds are presented, both alkali metal salts (Li, Na, Cs) of 3,4,5-tris-alkoxybenzoic acid with a second tapered tris-alkoxyaryl group attached at the end of an alkoxy chain. The double-tapered compounds all display an unusual hexagonal columnar phase consisting of one ionic and three non-ionic columns per unit cell. The cation size has an unexpectedly drastic effect on unit cell size. Unlike most columnar phases, the current phases show unusually high dimensional stability on heating, and high stiffness in spite of being 80–85 % aliphatic, attributed to their molecular topology. The described approach may lead to co-assemblies of multifunctional materials, for example, parallel p- and n-semiconducting nanowires or parallel ionic and electronic conductors.     

Sweet like chocolate

A new crystalline form of αβ‐d ‐lactose prepared by oven drying a concentrated aqueous solution of d ‐lactose is a lesson in the power of observation and the rigorous analysis of powder samples.     

Mechanistic Insights into a Sustainable Mechanochemical Synthesis of Ettringite

Mechanochemistry offers an environmentally benign and facile synthesis method for a variety of cement paste constituents. In addition, these methods can be used to selectively tune the properties of cement components. The mineral ettringite is an important component of cementitious materials and has additional technological potential due to its ion exchange properties. Synthesis of ettringite via mechanochemistry is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional wet-chemical synthesis established in industry. This contribution explores the mechanism of a two-step mechanochemical synthesis of ettringite, which was previously found to greatly improve the reaction conversion as compared with one-pot synthesis. The crystallinity of Al(OH)₃ was found to decrease during the first stage of this mechanochemical synthesis. This was correlated to a significant decrease in the particle size of Al(OH)₃ in this stage. No other significant changes were found for the other components, suggesting that mechanochemical activation of Al(OH)₃ is responsible for the enhanced formation of ettringite by the two-step approach. The environmentally friendly approach developed for ettringite synthesis offers a versatile synthetic strategy, which can be applied to synthesise further cementitious materials.     

Triazine based Mn (II) and Mn (II)/Ln (III) complexes: Synthesis,characterization and catecholase activities

In the current work, two triazine‐based multidentate ligands (H₂L¹ and H₂L²) and their homo‐dinuclear Mn (II), mononuclear Ln (III) and hetero‐dinuclear Mn (II)/Ln (III) (Where Ln: Eu or La) complexes were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods. Single crystals of a homo‐dinuclear Mn (II) complex {[Mn (HL¹)(CH₃OH)](ClO₄·CH₃OH}₂ ( 1 ) were obtained and the molecular structure was determined by X‐ray diffraction method. In the structure of the complex, each Mn (II) ion is seven‐coordinate and one of the phenolic oxygen bridges two Mn (II) centre forming a dimeric structure. The UV–Vis. and photoluminescence properties of synthesized ligands and their metal complexes were investigated in DMF solution and the compounds showed emission bands in the UV–Vis. region. The catecholase enzyme‐like activity of the complexes were studied for 3,5‐DTBC → 3,5‐DTBQ conversion in the presence of air oxygen. Homo‐dinuclear Mn (II) complexes ( 1 and 4 ) were found to efficiently catalyse 3,5‐DTBC → 3,5‐DTBQ conversion with the turnover numbers of 37.25 and 35.78 h^?1 (k_cat), respectively. Mononuclear Eu (III) and La (III) complexes did not show catecholase activity.