Structure determination of a brownmillerite Ca2Co2O5 thin film by Precession Electron Diffraction

Calcium cobaltite thin films with a ratio Ca/Co=1 were grown on (101)-NdGaO3 substrate by the pulsed laser deposition technique. The structure of the deposited metastable phase is solved using a precession electron diffraction 3D dataset recorded from a cross-sectional sample. It is shown that an ordered oxygen-deficient Ca2Co2O5+d perovskite of the brownmillerite-type with lattice parameters a= 0.546nm, b=1.488nm and c=0.546nm (SG: Ibm2) has been stabilized using the substrate induced strain. The structure and microstructure of this metastable cobaltite is further discussed and compared to related bulk materials based on our transmission electron microscopy investigationsComment: 13 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted in Phys. Rev.

Asymmetric copper-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction revisited: control of the structure of bis(oxazoline) ligands

International audienceSynthesis of 1,4-bis(oxazoline) ligands bearing a bicyclo[2,2,2]backbone derived from 9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthacene trans-dicarboxylic acid was revisited. Starting from L- or D-amino alcohols and either (S,S) or (R,R)-dihydroethano trans-dicarboxylic acid, a complete series of ligands was evaluated in the copper-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction. The most efficient ligands with a phenyl substituent on the oxazoline ring afforded enantiomeric excess up to 98%. This is different from previous results indicating that the best enantioselectivity involved a diastereomeric ligand with the meso-backbone

Redox-active phosphines: synthesis and crystal structures of palladium(II) complexes of a metallaphosphine in two different oxidation states.

International audienceThe redox-active metallaphosphine [Fe(dppe)(η(5)-C5Me5)(C≡C-PPh2)] reacts with [Pd(1,5-cod)Cl2] to give mono- and bis-phosphine coordinated palladium centres as a function of stoichiometry, and these complexes provide a stable redox-active platform which allows reversible one-electron {Fe(II)→Fe(III)(+)} oxidations within the palladium coordination sphere

Synthesis, reactivity, and some photochemistry of ortho-N,N-dimethylaminomethyl substituted aryl and ferrocenyl pentamethylcyclopentadienyl dicarbonyl iron complexes

Supplementary materials: CCDC 928736, 928273, 928738, 928275, 928274 and 928737 contain the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge from The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre via http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_request/cifInternational audienceOrtho-lithiated N,N-dimethylaminomethyl ferrocene and benzyldimethylamine react with Cp*Fe(CO)2I to give the new complexes ((Cp*Fe(CO)2)-2-(CH2NMe2)C5H3)Fe(Cp) and Cp*Fe(CO)2-C6H4(o-CH2NMe2). Access to a wide variety of alkoxy-substituted complexes ((Cp*Fe(CO)2)-2-(CH2OR)C5H3)Fe(Cp) can be easily achieved by tandem quaternization/alcoholysis of ((Cp*Fe(CO)2)-2-(CH2NMe2)C5H3)Fe(Cp). Preliminary results show that chelated complexes can be obtained by displacement of one of the carbonyl ligands by photolysis. Crystal structures of ((Cp*Fe(CO)2)-2-(CH2NMe2)C5H3)Fe(Cp), ((Cp*Fe(CO)2)-2-(CH2OR)C5H3)Fe(Cp) (R = Ph, Bz, CHPh2 and d-menthyl) and [Cp*Fe(CO)2-C6H4(o-CH2NMe2)][I] are reported

A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Ammonium Bifluoride Catalyzed Regioselective Synthesis of Quinoxalines and Pyrido[2,3-b]pyrazines

International audienceAmmonium bifluoride was efficiently used (at a 0.5 mol % loading) to catalyze the cyclocondensation between 1,2-arylenediamines and 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds at room temperature in methanol-water, affording quinoxalines and pyrido[2,3-b]pyrazines in excellent yields. Importantly, 2,8-disubstituted quinoxalines and 3-substituted pyrido[2,3-b]pyrazines were regioselectively formed by reacting aryl glyoxals with 3-methyl-1,2-phenylenediamine and 2,3-diaminopyridine, respectively. Analysis of the DFT reactivity indices allowed to explain the catalytic role of ammonium bifluoride

Chiral electron-rich bis(cyclopentadienyl) dithiolene molybdenum complexes

International audienceEnantiomerically pure electron rich Cp2Mo(dithiolene) complexes have been synthesized from the enantiopure dithiolene ligands, namely the (R)- and the (S)-3(1-phenylethyl)-1,3-thiazoline-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate ligands. These heteroleptic molybdenum complexes act as very good electron donors, as demonstrated through electrochemical investigations. Both isomers form charge transfer salts with TCNQ with a 1:1 stoechiometry which have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, EPR and UV–vis spectroscopic investigations. Circular dichroism (CD) experiments were also carried out on the neutral (R) and (S) enantiomers as well as on the mono oxidized species of these Cp2Mo dithiolene complexes

Absorption and Fluorescence Signatures of 1,2,3-Triazole Based Regioisomers : Challenging Compounds for TD-DFT

International audienceIn the continuous quest for improving TD-DFT methodologies as a tool to predict the photophysical features of solvated chro- mophores, we herein investigate two model regioisomers based on the 1,2,3-triazole moiety. Starting from their experimental absorption and emission spectra, key energy differences highlighting the main trends between the two isomers are extracted and used to gauge the accuracy of several levels of theory. RI-CC2 and EOM-CCSD calculations allow us to ascertain that the low energy spectra is not linked to double excitations. In vacuum, neither these methods nor any of the implemented TD-DFT levels of theory, ranging from global hybrids (PBE0, B3LYP) to range-separated functionals without (CAM-B3LYP, ωB97X) or with dispersion corrections (ωB97X-D), is able to capture the key features that differentiate the two chromophores. Accounting for solvent within a specific PCM model allows to recover experimental trends, but the dramatic changes occurring when moving from toluene to THF and/or for different PCM approaches (LR, cLR, SS) suggest that this agreement is probably fortuitous. Even so the ωB97X-D functional combined to the SS-PCM scheme leads to quantitative agreement with experiment, TD-DFT results obtained for 1,2,3-triazole based chromophores need to be treated with caution. We also show that the SS-PCM approach may be useful to test current and novel exchange-correlation functionals against the charge transfer failure

Stable divalent germanium, tin and lead amino(ether)-phenolate monomeric complexes: structural features, inclusion heterobimetallic complexes, and ROP catalysis

International audienceStable germanium(ii) and lead(ii) amido complexes {LO(i)}M(N(SiMe3)2) (M = Ge(II), Pb(II)) bearing amino(ether)phenolate ligands are readily available using the proteo-ligands {LO(i)}H of general formula 2-CH2NR2-4,6-tBu2-C6H2OH (i = 1, NR2 = N((CH2)2OCH3)2; i = 2, NR2 = NEt2; i = 3, NR2 = aza-15-crown-5) and M(N(SiMe3)2)2 precursors. The molecular structures of these germylenes and plumbylenes, as well as those of {LO(3)}GeCl, {LO(3)}SnCl and of the congeneric {LO(4)}Sn(II)(N(SiMe3)2) where NR2 = aza-12-crown-4, have been determined crystallographically. All complexes are monomeric, with 3-coordinate metal centres. The phenolate systematically acts as a N^Ophenolate bidentate ligand, with no interactions between the metal and the Oside-arm atoms in these cases (for {LO(1)}(-), {LO(3)}(-) and {LO(4)}(-)) where they could potentially arise. For each family, the lone pair of electrons essentially features ns(2) character, and there is little, if any, hybridization of the valence orbitals. Heterobimetallic complexes {LO(3)}M(N(SiMe3)2)*LiOTf, where the Li(+) cation sits inside the tethered crown-ether, were prepared by reaction of {LO(3)}M(N(SiMe3)2) and LiOTf (M = Ge(II), Sn(II)). The inclusion of Li(+) (featuring a close contact with the triflate anion) in the macrocycle bears no influence on the coordination sphere of the divalent tetrel element. In association with iPrOH, the amido germylenes, stannylenes and plumbylenes catalyse the controlled polymerisation of l- and racemic lactide. The activity increases linearly according to Ge(II) ≪ Sn(II) ≪ Pb(II). The simple germylenes generate very sluggish catalysts, but the activity is significantly boosted if the heterobimetallic complex {LO(3)}Ge(N(SiMe3)2)*LiOTf is used instead. On the other hand, with 10-25 equiv. of iPrOH, the plumbylenes afford highly active binary catalysts, converting 1000 or 5000 equiv. of monomer at 60 °C within 3 or 45 min, respectively, in a controlled fashion

Helically chiral NHC‐gold(I) complexes: synthesis, chiroptical properties and electronic features of the [5]helicene‐imidazolylidene ligand

The golden twist: Monodentate [5]helicene-imidazolylidene gold(I) complexes were prepared in good yields and structurally characterized. Benefiting from the presence of the configurationally stable [5]helicenic unit, they exhibit appealing chiroptical features, such as strong circular dichroism, moderate circularly polarized phosphorescence and dual emission with phosphorescence lifetimes up to the millisecond range

A supramolecular double sulfate salt with a lamellar type: crystal structures and thermal behavior

The synthesis of a series of supramolecular double sulfate salts using transition metals and the aromatic amine -methylbenzylamine afforded an unexpected hybrid lamellar structure type. (C8H12N)2[M(H2O)4(SO4)2].2H2O (M = Fe to Zn) crystallizes with a monoclinic structure (S.G. P21/n), with a significant interlamellar distance of more than 16 Å. While comparable to common clay materials, the crystal structure is actually supramolecular, in particular the mineral layer is built from hydrogen bonds only. The interlayer space is filled with aromatic amines that form chains through C-H***π interactions. The thermal study of all metal compounds has revealed a good stability of the filled compounds up to 200°C. The dehydration proceeds differently according to the metal incorporated into the structure. In particular, the stepped release of water modifies drastically the interlayer space, which is able to vary from 14.8 to 18.8 Å, in opposite way for the Zn-related compound compared to other metals