Chemical Reactivity of Tetrasulfur Tetranitride: Synthesis,Physical Properties,and Structural Characterization of the Amorphous Phase Cu7S4N4

Tetrasulfur tetranitride, S₄N₄, reacts with elemental Cu within inert solvents to a black‐blue material of approximate composition Cu₇S₄N₄ which is totally amorphous to X‐rays and which cannot be made crystalline by either thermal treatment or electron radiation. Cu₇S₄N₄ explodes if heated above 234 °C or when subjected to mechanical shock to eventually yield copper(I) sulfide; this together with the characteristic infrared spectrum of Cu₇S₄N₄ indicates the presence of molecular S₄N₄ units inside the amorphous phase. The metastable nature of Cu₇S₄N₄ is also mirrored by electron microscopy which furthermore allows the structural characterization of its degradation products. Based on experimental EXAFS data offering characteristic Cu—N and Cu—S distances, a theoretical crystalline approximant of Cu₇S₄N₄ was suggested and structurally optimized by density‐functional total‐energy calculations including periodic boundary conditions. This model incorporates a central S₄N₄ unit bonded to three shells of Cu atoms of different functionalities; in addition, a partial rupture of the S₄N₄ unit is likely to allow for a lowering of the total energy of the metastable phase. The latter observation supports the impossibility to make Cu₇S₄N₄ crystallize using ₄N₄ crystallize using whatever kind of measures.     

Anhydrous α-lactose A study with DSC and TXRD

The dehydrated lactose forms α_H and α_S were investigated by time- and temperature-resolved X-ray powder diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry. We found different X-ray structures for these two forms, which is probably related to the different dehydration processes. The rapidly dehydrated form α_H obviously has the same X-ray structure as the starting material α-lactose monohydrate, although the crystallinity is reduced. A thermally induced transition of the α_H-form into the α_S-form was observed. This transition should allow one to “switch” between the physicochemical properties of the excipient, which may be important for applications in pharmaceutical and food industries.     

Polysulfonylamine. XLI. Ein Silber(I)-Hydrat ungewöhnlicher Zusammensetzung: Röntgenstrukturanalytische und thermochemische Charakterisierung von Tetrakis(dimesylamido)aquatetrasilber(I) [Ag4(N(SO2CH3)2}4(H2O)]

Polysulfonyl Amines. XLI. A Silver(I) Hydrate with an Unusual Composition: Characterization of Tetrakis(dimesylamido)aquatetrasilver(I) [Ag₄(N)SO₂CH₃)₂}₄(H₂O)] by X-Ray Diffraction and Thermal Analysis The title compound is obtained by crystallizing AgN(SO₂CH₃)₂ from water at room temperature. Crystallographic data (at ?95°C): Triclinic space group P1 , a = 864.6(4), b = 1 211.2(5), c = 1 399.1(5) pm, α = 90.97(3), β = 90.90(3), γ = 98.25(4)°, V = 1.4496 nm³, Z = 2, D_x = 2.608 Mg m^?3. The four independent silver atoms and the water molecule form zigzag chains Ag(1)-Ag(2)-(μ-H₂O)-Ag(3) …? Ag(4) …? Ag(1′) with distances Ag(1)-Ag(2) 309.7, Ag(2)-O(w) 241.8, O(w)-Ag(3) 241.4, Ag(3) …? Ag(4) 342.9, Ag(4) …? Ag(1′) 361.4 pm. The catenated silver atoms are further connected by the dimesylamide anions acting as tridentate bridging (α-O, N, ω-O)-ligands. The resulting strands are interconnected into layers through one O(S)-Ag′ contact (247 pm) and one hydrogen bond O(w)-H(l) …? O′(S) per repeating unit. Between the layers, a weak O(S) …? Ag″ interaction (271 ptn) and a hydrogen bond O(w)-H(2) …? O(S) per repeating unit are observed. The silver atoms Ag(l) to Ag(4) display the coordination numbers 5 [NO,Ag(2), distorted trigonal bipyramid], 5[NO₂,O(w)Ag(I), distorted trigonal bipyramid], 5[O₄,O(w), trigonal bipyramid], and 2 + 1 (N₂, li-near; plus a secondary Ag …? 0 contact). The dehydration of the title compound and a solid-solid phase transformation in anhydrous AgN(SO₂CH₃)₂, were quantitatively investigated by thermoconductometry and time- and temperature-resolved X-ray diffractometry (TXRD).     

Adhesion properties of a silicon-containing calcium phosphate coating deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on a heated substrate

Silicon-containing hydroxyapatite coatings 400–700 nm in thickness are prepared by means of radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on a heated (to 200°C) titanium substrate chemically etched and treated with a pulsed electron beam. The morphology and phase composition of the coating are studied. The morphology and roughness of the composite “calcium-phosphate coating-titanium substrate” differ depending on the treatment procedure of the substrate before deposition. The scratch test method is used to assess the adhesion strength of the coatings formed at different values of bias potential applied to the substrate. It is observed that the adhesion strength of the coating changes with decreasing crystallite size.     

Controlling the Surface Functionalization of Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles by Sequence-Defined Macromolecules

Ultrasmall gold nanoparticles (diameter about 2 nm) were surface-functionalized with cysteine-carrying precision macromolecules. These consisted of sequence-defined oligo(amidoamine)s (OAAs) with either two or six cysteine molecules for binding to the gold surface and either with or without a PEG chain (3400 Da). They were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, ¹H NMR diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The number of precision macromolecules per nanoparticle was determined after fluorescent labeling by UV spectroscopy and also by quantitative ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Each nanoparticle carried between 40 and 100 OAA ligands, depending on the number of cysteine units per OAA. The footprint of each ligand was about 0.074 nm² per cysteine molecule. OAAs are well suited to stabilize ultrasmall gold nanoparticles by selective surface conjugation and can be used to selectively cover their surface. The presence of the PEG chain considerably increased the hydrodynamic diameter of both dissolved macromolecules and macromolecule-conjugated gold nanoparticles.