Chemical chartographisis: a contemporary perspective in molecular design and synthesis

The use of flexible molecular systems in solution, without strictly controlling their behaviour, has frequently been productive. Their potential could increase by a more holistic view of the reaction(s) process(es) in which they are involved. In this perspective, we introduce a broader approach - “Chemical Chartographisis” - and discuss three projects in detail to illustrate its potential. The topics involve bimetallic 3d/4f species and coordination compounds built from benzotriazole-based and (a)symmetric salan ligands and focus on catalytic and, in less detail, biological-related examples.</p

Review: Recent advances of one-dimensional coordination polymers as catalysts

This review aims to provide reports of one dimensional (1-D) coordination polymers that have been used as catalysts in various organic reactions in the last decade, covering the literature from 2007 and onwards. The CPs have been mainly categorized into homometallic and heterometallic compounds; additional parameters such as the metal and ligand selection for the CP are discussed to provide a more detailed look into each system

Mechanochemical cu(II) complexes and propargylamine synthetic adventures

We synthesized and characterized known and new Cu(II)-salen complexes and investigated their efficacy in yielding propargylamines (PAs) via an A3 coupling reaction mechanochemically. Although the method appears simple, we explicitly describe synthetic obstacles that urge unavoidable solvent use to isolate the molecular entities in high purity. The recovered complexes retain structure and catalytic efficacy, and a library of twenty-four known and unknown PAs are isolated in very good to excellent yields. The scope and limitations of this method are presented.</p

Dinucleating Schiff base ligand in Zn/4f coordination chemistry: synthetic challenges and catalytic activity evaluation

Four Zn/4f polynuclear coordination clusters (PCCs) formulated as [ZnII2DyIII2L2(CO3)2(NO3)2] (1), [ZnIIYIIIL(NO3)2(o-van) (MeOH)] (MeOH) [2 (MeOH)] and [ZnIILnIIIL(NO3)2Cl(EtOH)] where Ln is Dy (3) and Y (4) and where H2L is the dinucleating Schiff base ligand N,N' bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)cyclohexane-1,2-diamine and o-van is ortho-vanillin, were prepared and fully characterised for the first time. These air-stable heterometallic PCCs, obtained in high yields from commercially available materials, were shown to remain stable in solution in their dinuclear [ZnIILnIIIL] form. Their catalytic activity was evaluated in various catalytic transformations including the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of 2 acyl imidazoles with indole