Why Eastern Europe might be hoping for a Biden victory this November

Under both President Obama and Trump, Eastern Europe has faded from the foreign policy agenda of the United States. With the 2020 US presidential election around the corner, Cristian Nitoiu, Florin Pasatoiu and Loredana Simionov analyse the impact of a potential Trump or Biden administration on the region, with a focus on Romania. They write that depending on who wins the White House, the next four years may see a new focus on promoting US-style liberal values in Eastern Europe, or the continued fallout from US-antagonism towards China

Anion-Dependent Construction of Two Hexanuclear 3D-4F Complexes with a Flexible Schiff Base Ligand

Two hexanuclear 3d-4f Ni-Eu and Cu-Eu complexes [Eu4Ni2L2(OAc)(12)(EtOH)(2)] (1) and [Eu4Cu2L2(OAc)(12)]center dot 2H(2)O (2) are reported which are formed from the salen type Schiff-base ligand H2L (H2L = N,N'-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)butane-1,4-diamine). In both complexes, four Eu3+ cations are bridged by eight OAc- groups and the chain is terminated at each end by two ML (M = Ni and Cu) units. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallographic studies and the luminescence properties of the free ligand and metal complexes in solution were measured.HHMI Undergraduate Science Education Award 52005907National Science Foundation CHE-0629136, CHE-0741973, CHE-0847763Welch Foundation F-1631, F-816Hong Kong Baptist University FRG/06-07/II-16Hong Kong Research Grants Council HKBU 202407Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD)Open Foundation of Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Technology KF1005UT-CNM and UT-AustinChemistr

Dimers and chains of {3d-4f} single molecule magnets constructed from heterobimetallic tectons.

International audienceA tetranuclear complex and a 1-D coordination polymer with a ladder-like topology have been obtained by connecting [Ni(II)Dy(III)] nodes with dicarboxylato ligands: [Ni₂(valpn)₂Dy₂(III)(pdca)₂(NO₃)(H₂O)₆](NO₃)*4H₂O 1, and (∞)¹[Ni₂(H₂O)₂(valpn)₂Dy₂(tfa)₃]*4CH₃CN 2 (valpn²⁻ = the dianion of the Schiff base resulting from reacting o-vanillin with 1,3-propanediamine; pdca²⁻ = the dianion of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid; tfa²⁻ = the dianion of the terephthalic acid). The magnetic measurements show a ferromagnetic interaction between Ni(II) and Dy(III), and that both compounds behave like SMM with strong tunnelling. The barrier of 2 (17.4 K) is higher than that of 1 (13.6 K)

Environmental Dependence of Artifact CD Peaks of Chiral Schiff Base 3d-4f Complexes in Soft Mater PMMA Matrix

Four chiral Schiff base binuclear 3d-4f complexes (NdNi, NdCu, GdNi, and GdCu) have been prepared and characterized by means of electronic and CD spectra, IR spectra, magnetic measurements, and X-ray crystallography (NdNi). A so-called artifact peak of solid state CD spectra, which was characteristic of oriented molecules without free molecular rotation, appeared at about 470 nm. Magnetic data of the complexes in the solid state (powder) and in PMMA cast films or solutions indicated that only GdCu preserved molecular structures in various matrixes of soft maters. For the first time, we have used the changes of intensity of artifact CD peaks to detect properties of environmental (media solid state (KBr pellets), PMMA cast films, concentration dependence of PMMA in acetone solutions, and pure acetone solution) for chiral 3d-4f complexes (GdCu). Rigid matrix keeping anisotropic orientation exhibited a decrease in the intensity of the artifact CD peak toward negative values. The present results suggest that solid state artifact CD peaks can be affected by environmental viscosity of a soft mater matrix

Cyanomethylene-bis(phosphonate)-Based Lanthanide Complexes: Structural, Photophysical, and Magnetic Investigations

10 pagesInternational audienceThe syntheses, structural investigations, magnetic and photophysical properties of a series of 10 lanthanide mononuclear complexes, containing the heteroditopic ligand cyanomethylene-bis(5,5-dimethyl-2-oxo-1,3,2λ5-dioxa-phosphorinane) (L), are described. The crystallographic analyses indicate two structural types: in the first one, [LnIII(L)3(H2O)2]*H2O (Ln = La, Pr, Nd), the metal ions are eight-coordinated within a square antiprism geometry, while the second one, [LnIII(L)3(H2O)]*8H2O (Ln = Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er), contains seven-coordinated LnIII ions within distorted monocapped trigonal prisms...

Role of the Diamagnetic Zinc(II) Ion in Determining the Electronic Structure of Lanthanide Single-Ion Magnets.

Four complexes containing DyIII and PrIII ions and their LnIII -ZnII analogs have been synthesized in order to study the influence that a diamagnetic ZnII ion has on the electronic structure and hence, the magnetic properties of the DyIII and PrIII single ions. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed the molecular structures as [DyIII (HL)2 (NO3 )3 ] (1), [PrIII (HL)2 (NO3 )3 ] (2), [ZnII DyIII (L)2 (CH3 CO2 )(NO3 )2 ] (3) and [ZnII2 PrIII (L)2 (CH3 CO2 )4 (NO3 )] (4) (where HL=2-methoxy-6-[(E)-phenyliminomethyl]phenol). The dc and ac magnetic data were collected for all four complexes. Compounds 1 and 3 display frequency dependent out-of-phase susceptibility signals (χM "), which is a characteristic signature for a single-molecule magnet (SMM). Although 1 and 3 are chemically similar, a fivefold increase in the anisotropic barrier (Ueff ) is observed experimentally for 3 (83 cm-1 ), compared to 1 (16 cm-1 ). To rationalize the larger anisotropic barrier (1 vs. 3), detailed ab initio calculations were performed. Although the ground state Kramer's doublet in both 1 and 3 are axial in nature (gzz =19.443 for 1 and 18.82 for 3), a significant difference in the energy gap (Ueff ) between the ground and first excited Kramer's doublet is calculated. This energy gap is governed by the electrostatic repulsion between the DyIII ion and the additional charge density found for the phenoxo bridging ligand in 3. This extra charge density was found to be a consequence of the presence of the diamagnetic ZnII ion present in the complex. To explore the influence of diamagnetic ions on the magnetic properties further, previously reported and structurally related Zn-DyIII complexes were analyzed. These structurally analogous complexes unambiguously suggest that the electrostatic repulsion is found to be maximal when the Zn-O-Dy-O dihedral angle is small, which is an ideal condition to maximize the anisotropic barrier in DyIII complexes

Resilience and the world order: the EU and the RIC states

© 2020, Springer Nature Limited. The aim of the article is to analyse the way the RIC (Russia, India and China) states understand resilience in the world order. In doing so, the article compares their interpretation to that developed by the European Union (EU). The first part of the article surveys the way the literature has analysed the role of resilience in the foreign policy of the EU. One of the main findings here is that the mainstream interpretation of resilience tends to be rather circular and leads to process of securitisation of the external environment. The second part of the article then presents and applies to the case of the RIC states a more nuanced framework that examines resilience along three complementary dimensions: resilience as ontology (attribute), as process and as outcome (agency and intentionality)

Hybrid geopolitics in EU-Russia relations: understanding the persistence of conflict and cooperation

The article analyses the way the rise of geopolitics has affected the conflict and cooperation dichotomy in EU-Russia relations. It contends, that the role of geopolitics in the security architecture of the European continent is characterised by continuity, as its pervasive effects have constrained the agency and autonomy of both Russia and the EU

Public diplomacy and the persistence of the conflict and cooperation dichotomy in EU-Russia relations

The literature on relations between the European Union (EU) and Russia has proliferated during the last decade. However, little attention has been afforded to the role of public diplomacy (PD). Studies have generally focused on the gradual breakdown of the relationship between the two international actors in the background of the Ukraine crisis, but also on Russia’s gradual disenchantment with the Western-led liberal world order. The underlying assumption has been that Russia and the EU have gradually become engaged in a dialogue of the deaf, where PD does not serve a meaningful role, if any. With the breakdown of the current EU-Russia relations, the emphasis on cooperation is rather muted, which opens the space for questioning the role of PD in this dynamic. In this context, the article analyses the way in which EU PD (directed towards Russia) represents and perpetuates the conflict and cooperation dichotomy. It finds that, developed primarily from a monological perspective, the EU’s PD framing is rather ineffective in addressing in appealing to the Russian general public or changing the Kremlin’s behaviour.</p