Molecular, spectroscopic, and magnetic properties of cobalt(II) complexes with heteroaromatic N(O)-donor ligands

New [Co(SCN)2(L)4/2] complexes, where L = b-pic (1), pyCH2OH (2), py(CH2)3OH (3), 1,2,4- triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine (4), [CoCl2(urotrop)2] (5), and [Co(DMIM)3]Cl2 H2O (6) where urotrop = hexamethylenetetramine and DMIM = 2,20-bis(4,5-dimethylimidazolyl) were synthesized in simple reactions of CoCl2 6H2O with ammonia thiocyanate and pyridine type ligands or urotropine and diimidazolyl ligands with cobalt(II) chloride in methanol solutions. The orthorhombic crystallization for (1), (2), and (4), the monoclinic one for (3) and (5) as well as the hexagonal one for (6) were found. The plots of the overlap population density-of-states indicated nonbonding character of the interactions between pyridine derivatives ligands and cobalt(II) ions in the complexes (1)–(4). The electronic spectra showed almost perfect octahedral complex in the case of (6). The magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed paramagnetic behavior with low values of the Curie–Weiss temperature, positive for complex (5) and negative for the other ones, although the transition to collective magnetic state at low temperatures for (4) and (5) was evidenced by an observation of antiferromagnetic coupling with Ne´el temperature of 4.5 K and the ferromagnetic one with Curie temperature of 10 K, respectively

Not Quite Right: Representations of Eastern Europeans in ECJ Discourse

Although the increasing responsiveness of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘ECJ’) jurisprudence to western Member States’ concerns regarding Central and Eastern European (‘CEE’) nationals’ mobility has garnered academic attention, ECJ discourse has not been scrutinised for how it approaches the CEE region or CEE movers. Applying postcolonial theory, this article seeks to fill this gap and to explore whether there are any indications that ECJ discourse is in line with the historical western-centric inferiorisation of the CEE region. A critical discourse analysis of a set of ECJ judgments and corresponding Advocate General opinions pertaining to CEE nationals illustrates not only how the ECJ adopts numerous discursive strategies to maintain its authority, but also how it tends to prioritise values of the western Member States, while overlooking interests of CEE movers. Its one-sided approach is further reinforced by referring to irrelevant facts and negative assumptions to create an image of CEE nationals as socially and economically inferior to westerners, as not belonging to the proper EU polity and as not quite deserving of EU law’s protections. By silencing CEE nationals’ voices, while disregarding the background of east/west socio-economic and political power differentials and precariousness experienced by many CEE workers in the west, such racialising discourse normalises ethnicity- and class-based stereotypes. These findings also help to contextualise both EU and western policies targeting CEE movers and evidence of their unequal outcomes in the west, and are in line with today’s nuanced expressions of racisms. By illustrating the ECJ’s role in addressing values pertinent to mobile CEE individuals, this study facilitates a fuller appreciation of the ECJ’s power in shaping and reflecting western-centric EU identity and policies. Engaging with such issues will not only allow us to better appreciate—and question—the ECJ’s legitimacy, but might also facilitate a better understanding of power dynamics within the EU. This study also makes significant theoretical and methodological contributions. It expands (and complicates) the application of postcolonial theory to contemporary intra-EU processes, while illustrating the usefulness of applying critical discourse analysis to exploring differentiation, exclusion, subordination and power within legal language

Directed Assembly of acac-Based Complexes by Deliberately Fine-Tuning Electrostatic Molecular-Recognition Events

A protocol for supramolecular synthesis of one-dimensional (1-D) chains comprising octahedral metal-complexes linked by predictable hydrogen bonds has been established. The synthetic process was refined by adjusting the reactants in an iterative manner to shift the magnitude of the electrostatic potential surfaces of competing hydrogen-bond acceptor sites thereby avoiding the formation of unwanted products. The synthetic space for this study was provided by a combination of reactants: Co­(II)/Ni­(II) cations and acac-based anions (dibenzoylmethanato, dbm/hexafluoracetylacetonato, hfac) combined with a series of pyridine-oxime ligands (4-pyridinealdoxime, 4-Hoxpy; methyl 4-pyridyl ketoxime, 4-Meoxpy; 3-pyridinealdoxime, 3-Hoxpy; methyl 3-pyridyl ketoxime, 3-Meoxpy). The initial self-assembly process did not produce the desired 1-D chains held together by oxime···oxime hydrogen bonds; however, through deliberate fine-tuning of the reactants, a robust synthetic protocol for the reproducible synthesis of the correct supramolecular products was obtained. The successful synthetic protocol was arrived at in much the same way as organic synthesis is systematically altered and refined in response to product yields