The role of anions in oxygen reduction in neutral and basic media on gold single-crystal electrodes

Oxygen reduction on well-defined single-crystal electrodes in different basic and neutral media has been studied using the impinging jet system. The results obtained with this system in 0.1 M NaOH are comparable to those reported in the literature for rotating disk electrodes, indicating that the impinging jet system behaves as a system in which the thickness of the diffusion layer is stationary. The activity of the Au(100) electrode is considerably higher than the rest of the basal planes in all media and yields water when E>–0.2 V and hydrogen peroxide for E<–0.2 V on the SHE scale. For Au(111) and Au(110) the activity of the electrode is much smaller and the final product is always hydrogen peroxide. The transition between both mechanisms for the Au(100) is, essentially, independent of the solution pH. In acid media the final product is always hydrogen peroxide for all the electrodes studied. The differences between the activities of the electrodes have been explained in the light of the different adsorption properties of the surfaces in relation to HO₂ ^–. In the case of the Au(100) electrode, the existence of a negative charge density on the metal inhibits further reduction of HO₂ ^–.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Wolf Vielstich on the occasion of his 80th birthday in recognition of his numerous contributions to interfacial electrochemistry     

A new ternary cadmium–zirconium–sodium oxalate with an open framework: crystal structure, solid-state NMR spectroscopy and thermal behavior

A mixed cadmium-zirconium-sodium oxalate with an open architecture has been synthesized from precipitation methods at ambient pressure. It crystallizes in an hexagonal system, space group P6₄22 (no. 181), a=8.793(1)Å, c=24.530(1)Å, V=1642.5(3)ų and Z=3. The structure displays a [CdZr(C₂O₄)₄]²⁻ helicoidal framework. It is built from CdO₈ and ZrO₈ square-based antiprisms connected through bichelating oxalates and displays channels along different directions. The sodium counter-cations are located inside the voids of the structure together with water molecules. They exhibit a dynamic disorder which has been further investigated by ¹H and ²³Na solid-state NMR. The study pointed out two types of water molecules and sodium atoms, with a high mobility for one of each. The thermal decomposition has been studied in situ by temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and thermogravimety. The final product is a mixture of cadmium oxide, zirconium oxide and amorphous sodium carbonate.     

Contrasting oxide crystal chemistry of Nb and Ta:: The structures of the hexagonal bronzes BaTa2O6 and Ba0.93Nb2.03O6

The high-temperature hexagonal forms of BaTa₂O₆ and Ba_0.93Nb_2.03O₆ have P6/mmm symmetry with unit-cell parameters a=21.116(1) Å, c=3.9157(2) Å and a=21.0174(3) Å, c=3.9732(1) Å, respectively. Single crystal X-ray structure refinements for both phases are generally consistent with a previously proposed model, except for displacements of some Ba atoms from high-symmetry positions. The structures are based on a framework of corner- and edge-connected Nb/Ta-centred octahedra, with barium atoms occupying sites in four different types of [0 0 1] channels with hexagonal, triangular, rectangular and pentagonal cross-sections. The refinements showed that the non-stoichiometry in the niobate phase is due to barium atom vacancies in the pentagonal channels and to extra niobium atoms occupying interstitial sites with tri-capped trigonal prismatic coordination. The origin of the non-stoichiometry is attributed to minimisation of non-bonded Ba-Ba repulsions. The hexagonal structure is related to the structures of the low-temperature forms of BaNb₂O₆ and BaTa₂O₆, through a 30° rotation of the hexagonal rings of octahedra centred at the origin.     

Polyhedral monocarbaborane chemistry : Reactions of the [6-Ph-nido-6-CB9H11] anion with two-electron donors to yield a series of neutral arachno and closo ten-vertex monocarbaborane derivatives

Reaction of the ten-vertex [6-Ph-nido-6-CB₉H₁₁]⁻ anion (1) with two-electron donor ligands L, where L is SMe₂, NH₂Ph, NC₅H₅, NC₅H₄-para-CH₂Ph, NC₅H₄-para-Ph or NC₉H₇ (where NC₉H₇ is quinoline) in the presence of {FeCl₃(OH₂)₆} gives the six neutral arachno ten-vertex monocarbaboranes [6-Ph-9-L-arachno-6-CB₉H₁₂], compounds 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 11, respectively, isolatable in yields of up to 63%. On prolonged treatment with {FeCl₃(OH₂)₆} oxidative cluster closure of the four compounds 4, 7, 9 and 11 that have pyridine-type ligands gives the neutral closo ten-vertex monocarbaboranes [1-Ph-6-L-closo-1-CB₉H₈], compounds 6, 8, 10 and 12, respectively, in yields of 49-92%. All new species 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy. [This paper is an annotated exposition of parts of an oral presentation at the Third Pan-European Meeting of Boron Chemists, EUROBORON-3, Pruhonice, The Czech Republic, September 2004, of which the proceedings constitute this volume of Journal of Organometallic Chemistry.]     

N-H?S hydrogen bonding in 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole. Synthesis and crystal structures of mercapto functionalised 1,3,4-thiadiazoles

The synthesis and crystal structures of three mercapto functionalised 1,3,4-thiadiazoles and the crystal structure of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole are described. In the solid state, 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole 1 forms a thioamide tautomer as shown by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy as well as X-ray crystallography and as theoretically predicted. The molecules are connected to form chains via N-H?S hydrogen bonds with N?S=328.3 pm. Bis(2-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazolyl)-5,5′-disulfide 2, the disulfide of 1, as well as 2-(tert-butyldithio)-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole 3 and 2,5-bis(tert-butyldithio)-1,3,4-thiadiazole 4 have been synthesised and characterised by vibrational spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.     

等瓣置换反应的研究──手性簇合物［（η~5－MeO_2CC_5H_4）（CO）_2Mo］·［（η~5－MeO_2CC_5H_4）（CO）_2W］Fe（CO）_3（μ_3－S）的分子结构及晶体结构

用Ｘ射线衍射法测定了由η~５－ＭｅＯ_２ＣＣ_５Ｈ_４）（ＣＯ）_３ＭｏＮａ和［（η~５－ＭｅＯ_２ＣＣ_５Ｈ_４）（ＣＯ）_２Ｗ］Ｆｅ－（ＣＯ）_３Ｃｏ（Ｃｏ）_３（μ_３－Ｓ）的等瓣置换反应所生成的手性簇合物──［（η~５－ＭｅＯ_２ＣＣ_５Ｈ_４）（ＣＯ）_２Ｍｏ］－［（η~５－ＭｅＯ_２ＣＣ_５Ｈ_４）（ＣＯ）_２Ｗ］Ｆｅ（ＣＯ）_３（μ_３－Ｓ）的分子结构及晶体结构。晶体属Ｐ１空间群，晶胞参数α＝０．８７１６２（５）ｎｍ，ｂ＝０．７６２１８（４）ｎｍ，ｃ＝１．８７１１１（８）ｎｍ；α＝９４．１６４（４）°，β＝９７．９７９（２）°，γ＝９９．１０８（２）°，Ｚ＝２，μ＝５．９ｃｍ~（－１）。最终的一致性因子Ｒ＝０．０３６，Ｒｗ＝０．０３７．该簇合物含ＭｏＷＦｅＳ四面体簇核，其中Ｍｏ、Ｗ原子以１：１的比例无序地分占了四面体的２个顶点．     

Chemistry and Crystal Growth

Single-crystal materials, along with other forms of condensed matter (ceramics, polymers, liquid crystals, etc.) are fundamental to modern technology. The basic research and production of new materials with “tailored” solid-state physical properties therefore necessitate not only chemical synthesis but also the production of single crystals of a particular morphology (either bulk or thin layer crystals) and well-defined crystal defects (doping). In this review, an attempt is made to broaden the traditional synthetic concept of chemistry to the process of single-crystal synthesis. The methods of the resulting approach, which takes into account the specific properties of solid materials, are discussed and illustrated by experimental set-ups for the solution of a range of problems in chemical crystallization. Also included is recent work on the growing of single crystals of high-temperature superconductors, organic non-linear optical compounds, and proteins.     

Hydrothermal preparation,structure and characterizations of noncentrosymmetric LiZnO(IO3)

A new lithium zinc iodate, LiZnO(IO₃), has been prepared by hydrothermal reactions at 200 °C. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment revealed that the compound crystallizes in a noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic space group Ama2 with cell parameters: a = 6.3386(6) Å, b = 11.2613(11) Å, c = 4.6840(5) Å, Z = 4. In the structure, the basic building units are the distorted ZnO₆ octahedron, LiO₄ tetrahedron and the IO₃ group. These groups are linked together to form a three-dimensional structure by sharing the oxygen atoms. The DSC measurement demonstrates that the compound is stable up to 490 °C. Powder second-harmonic generation (SHG) test shows that the SHG effect is about 2 × KH₂PO₄.     

Syntheses and characterizations of zinc(II) and copper(II) complexes with reduced Schiff base derived from salicylaldehyde and D,L-selenomethionine

New zinc(II) and copper(II) complexes with a reduced Schiff-base ligand derived from D,L-selenomethionine and salicylaldehyde have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, IR, and NMR measurements. The single-crystal X-ray structure of the Cu(II) complex reveals that this complex is a carboxylate-bridged dimer of dinuclear copper(II) subunits and all metal centers are five-coordinate with O₄N donor sets in distorted square-pyramidal geometries. The Cu(II) complex consists of a 1-D coordination polymer.     

Supramolecular organotin(IV) dithiocarboxylates as potential antimicrobial agents

A series of tri-, chlorodi-, and diorganotin(IV) derivatives of 4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine-1-carbodithioate (L) {R?=?n-C₄H₉ (1), C₆H₁₁ (2), CH₃ (3) and C₆H₅ (4)}, (n-C₄H₉)₂SnClL (5) and R₂SnL₂ {R?=?n-C₄H₉ (6), C₂H₅ (7), CH₃ (8)} have been synthesized by refluxing organotin(IV) chlorides with the ligand-salt in the appropriate molar ratio. Elemental analysis, Raman, IR, multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ¹¹⁹Sn), mass spectroscopic, and single-crystal X-ray crystallographic studies were undertaken to elucidate the structures of the new compounds both in solution and in the solid state. The X-ray diffraction work reveals supramolecular structures for 4 and 6, with distorted trigonal-bipyramidal and distorted octahedral geometries around Sn, respectively. The ligand and several of the new compounds are good antimicrobial agents.