Complexation of lanthanides, actinides and transition metal cations with a 6-(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridine ligand: implications for actinide(III) /lanthanide(III) partitioning

The quadridentate N-heterocyclic ligand 6-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-3-yl)-2,2’:6’,2’’-terpyridine (CyMe4-hemi-BTBP) has been synthesized and its interactions with Am(III), U(VI), Ln(III) and some transition metal cations have been evaluated by X-ray crystallographic analysis, Am(III)/Eu(III) solvent extraction experiments, UV absorption spectrophotometry, NMR studies and ESI-MS. Structures of the 1:1 complexes with Eu(III), Ce(III) and the linear uranyl (UO22+) ion were obtained by X-ray crystallographic analysis, and showed similar coordination behavior to related BTBP complexes. In methanol, the stability constants of the Ln(III) complexes are slightly lower than those of the analogous quadridentate bis-triazine BTBP ligands, while the stability constant for the Yb(III) complex is higher. 1H NMR titrations and ESI-MS with lanthanide nitrates showed that the ligand forms only 1:1 complexes with Eu(III), Ce(III) and Yb(III), while both 1:1 and 1:2 complexes were formed with La(III) and Y(III) in acetonitrile. A mixture of isomeric chiral 2:2 helical complexes was formed with Cu(I), with a slight preference (1.4:1) for a single directional isomer. In contrast, a 1:1 complex was observed with the larger Ag(I) ion. The ligand was unable to extract Am(III) or Eu(III) from nitric acid solutions into 1-octanol, except in the presence of a synergist at low acidity. The results show that the presence of two outer 1,2,4-triazine rings is required for the efficient extraction and separation of An(III) from Ln(III) by quadridentate N-donor ligand

Heteroleptic Ir(III) complexes based on 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-pyridine and bisthienylethene: structures, luminescence and photochromic properties

Two bisthienylethenes 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4,5-bis[2,5-dimethyl(3-thienyl)]-1H-imidazole (L1H) and 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4,5-bis(2,5-dimethyl(3-thienyl))-1-phenyl-imidazole (L2H), which have a chelating N,O-donor binding site attached to the photochromic core, have been synthesized using a one-pot condensation reaction, and used to prepare the heteroleptic complexes [Ir(dfppy)2(L1)]·2CH3OH (1) and [Ir(dfppy)2(L2)] (2) [dfppyH = 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-pyridine]. In the crystal structures of all four compounds, two thiophene groups of each bisthienylethene molecule adopt parallel conformation. Neighboring molecules in L1H and 1 are linked into supramolecular chains through hydrogen bonds. Particularly, the packing structure of 1 contains right- and left-handed 21 helical chains. In contrast, neighboring molecules in L2H and 2 interact only through van der Waals interactions. At room temperature, L1H and L2H in CH2Cl2 show fluorescence emission at 442 nm and 469 nm, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 in CH2Cl2 reveal broad emission band characteristics of the Ir(III)/dfppy− chromophores at 508 nm and 494 nm, respectively, with a mixing of 3MLCT and 3LC characters. At room temperature, the photochromism ability of L2H in CH2Cl2 is clearly weaker than that of L1H. Moreover, no photochromism has been observed in 1 and 2. It has been demonstrated that both the substituent group and {Ir(dfppy)2}+ coordination could significantly influence the crystal structures, luminescence and photochromic properties of L1H, L2H, 1 and 2

A Poly(cobaloxime)/Carbon Nanotube Electrode: Freestanding Buckypaper with Polymer-Enhanced H2-Evolution Performance.

A freestanding H2-evolution electrode consisting of a copolymer-embedded cobaloxime integrated into a multiwall carbon nanotube matrix by π-π interactions is reported. This electrode is straightforward to assemble and displays high activity towards hydrogen evolution in near-neutral pH solution under inert and aerobic conditions, with a cobalt-based turnover number (TON(Co)) of up to 420. An analogous electrode with a monomeric cobaloxime showed less activity with a TON(Co) of only 80. These results suggest that, in addition to the high surface area of the porous network of the buckypaper, the polymeric scaffold provides a stabilizing environment to the catalyst, leading to further enhancement in catalytic performance. We have therefore established that the use of a multifunctional copolymeric architecture is a viable strategy to enhance the performance of molecular electrocatalysts.We acknowledge support by the Christian Doppler Research Association (Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development), the OMV Group, the EPSRC, the BBSRC (Grant BB/K010220/1) and the Woolf Fisher Trust in New Zealand and the Cambridge Trusts. We also thank the National EPSRC XPS User’s Service (NEXUS) at Newcastle University, UK.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.20151137

Synthesis of six-coordinate mono-, bis-, and tris(tetrazolato) complexes via [3 + 2] cycloadditions of nitriles to silicon-bound azido ligands

A convenient synthetic route to poly(tetrazolato) silicon complexes is described based on the four reactive centres of the N-rich, highly endothermic tetraazides of the type Si(N3)4(L2). Hypercoordinate azido(tetrazolato) silicon complexes Si(N3)2(N4C-R)2(L2), R = CH3, C6H5, 4-C6H4CH3 (4a, 5, 6, 7) and Si(N3)2(N4C-L)2 (9, L = 2-C5H4N), L2 = 2,2'-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline, with SiN6 skeletons were synthesised via multiple [3 + 2] dipolar cycloaddition reactions starting from Si(N3)4(L2) and a nitrile. The isolated new complexes were characterised by standard analytical methods, single crystal X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (4a,b). Tetrazolato ligand linkage isomerism was observed for complex 4a. The crystallographically characterised methyl tetrazolato complexes and plausible configurational and linkage isomers were evaluated by DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level

Directly coupled versus spectator linkers on diimine ptii acetylides—change the structure, keep the function

Modification of light‐harvesting units with anchoring groups for surface attachment often compromises light‐harnessing properties. Herein, a series of [donor–acceptor–anchor] platinum(II) diimine (bis‐)acetylides was developed in order to systematically compare the effect of conjugated versus electronically decoupled modes of attachment of protected anchoring groups on the photophysical properties of light‐harvesting units. The first examples of “decoupled” phosphonate diimine PtII complexes are reported, and their properties are compared and contrasted to those of carboxylate analogues studied by a diversity of methods. Ultrafast time‐resolved IR and transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that all complexes have a charge‐transfer (CT) lowest excited state with lifetimes between 2 and 14 ns. Vibrational signatures and dynamics of CT states were identified; the assignment of electronic states and their vibrational origin was aided by TDDFT calculations. Ultrafast energy redistribution accompanied by structural changes was directly captured in the CT states. A significant difference between the structures of the electronic ground and CT excited states, as well as differences in the structural reorganisation in the complexes bearing directly attached or electronically decoupled anchoring groups, was discovered. This work demonstrates that decoupling of the anchoring group from the light‐harvesting core by a saturated spacer is an easy approach to combine surface attachment with high reduction potential and ten times longer lifetime of the CT excited state of the light‐absorbing unit, and retain electron‐transfer photoreactivity essential for light‐harvesting applications.N/

Lanthanoid/Alkali Metal ß-Triketonate Assemblies: A Robust Platform for Efficient NIR Emitters.

The reaction of hydrated lanthanoid chlorides with tribenzoylmethane and an alkali metal hydroxide consistently resulted in the crystallization of neutral tetranuclear assemblies with the general formula [Ln(Ae⋅HOEt)(L)4]2 (Ln=Eu3+, Er3+, Yb3+; Ae=Na+, K+, Rb+). Analysis of the crystal structures of these species revealed a coordination geometry that varied from a slightly distorted square antiprism to a slightly distorted triangular dodecahedron, with the specific geometrical shape being dependent on the degree of lattice solvation and identity of the alkali metal. The near-infrared (NIR)-emitting assemblies of Yb3+ and Er3+ showed remarkably efficient emission, characterized by significantly longer excited-state lifetimes (τobs≈37–47 μs for Yb3+ and τobs≈4–6 μs for Er3+) when compared with the broader family of lanthanoid β-diketonate species, even in the case of perfluorination of the ligands. The Eu3+ assemblies show bright red emission and a luminescence performance (τobs≈0.5 ms, equation image≈35–37 %, ηsens≈68–70 %) more akin to the β-diketonate species. The results highlight that the β-triketonate ligand offers a tunable and facile system for the preparation of efficient NIR emitters without the need for more complicated perfluorination or deuteration synthetic strategies

Photo-Driven Hydrogen Evolution by an Artificial Hydrogenase Utilizing the Biotin-Streptavidin Technology

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by an artificial hydrogenase based on the biotin-streptavidin technology is reported. A biotinylated cobalt pentapyridyl-based hydrogen evolution catalyst (HEC) was incorporated into different mutants of streptavidin. Catalysis with [Ru(bpy)(3)]Cl-2 as a photosensitizer (PS) and ascorbate as sacrificial electron donor (SED) at different pH values highlighted the impact of close lying amino acids that may act as a proton relay under the reaction conditions (Asp, Arg, Lys). In the presence of a close-lying lysine residue, both, the rates were improved, and the reaction was initiated much faster. The X-ray crystal structure of the artificial hydrogenase reveals a distance of 8.8 angstrom between the closest lying Co-moieties. We thus suggest that the hydrogen evolution mechanism proceeds via a single Co centre. Our findings highlight that streptavidin is a versatile host protein for the assembly of artificial hydrogenases and their activity can be fine-tuned via mutagenesis