Sodium Salicylate: An In-Depth Thermal and Photophysical Study.

Sodium salicylate (2-hydroxybenzoate) has been fully characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), thermogravimetric analysis in combination with in operando FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS, as well as by UV/Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy backed up by DFT calculations. SCXRD revealed a layered crystal structure composed of ionic sheets formed by Na+ -O contacts sandwiched between π-stacked aromatic rings of the salicylate anion oriented perpendicular to the layer plane. Only weak van der Waals interactions hold the individual sheets together. No solid/solid or solid/liquid phase transitions were observed upon heating, but a three-step decomposition was observed, with the first onset at 245 °C corresponding to concomitant release of CO2 and phenol. The UV/Vis absorption spectra show temperature-dependent absorption bands at around 305 and/or 345 nm, which according to DFT calculations correspond to the absorption of the carboxylate or phenolate proton transfer species, respectively. In solution, indications of the phenolate species are found only in a very apolar solvent (cyclohexane). Because of excited-state relaxation, emission always occurs from the phenolate structure, which explains the large Stokes shift.

A spin-frustrated trinuclear copper complex based on triaminoguanidine with an energetically well-separated degenerate ground state.

We present the synthesis and crystal structure of the trinuclear copper complex [Cu3(saltag)(bpy)3]ClO4·3DMF [H5saltag = tris(2-hydroxybenzylidene)triaminoguanidine; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine]. The complex crystallizes in the trigonal space group R3̅, with all copper ions being crystallographically equivalent. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility shows that the triaminoguanidine ligand mediates very strong antiferromagnetic interactions (JCuCu = -324 cm(-1)). Detailed analysis of the magnetic susceptibility and magnetization data as well as X-band electron spin resonance spectra, all recorded on both powdered samples and single crystals, show indications of neither antisymmetric exchange nor symmetry lowering, thus indicating only a very small splitting of the degenerate S = (1)/2 ground state. These findings are corroborated by density functional theory calculations, which explain both the strong isotropic and negligible antisymmetric exchange interactions.

A roadmap to uranium ionic liquids: anti-crystal engineering.

In the search for uranium-based ionic liquids, tris(N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato)uranylates have been synthesized as salts of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (C4mim) cation. As dithiocarbamate ligands binding to the UO2(2+) unit, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptamethylenedithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate, N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, and N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate have been explored. X-ray single-crystal diffraction allowed unambiguous structural characterization of all compounds except N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate, which is obtained as a glassy material only. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction as well as vibrational and UV/Vis spectroscopy, supported by computational methods, were used to characterize the products. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to investigate the phase-transition behavior depending on the N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand with the aim to establish structure-property relationships regarding the ionic liquid formation capability. Compounds with the least symmetric N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand and hence the least symmetric anions, tris(N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, tris(N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, and tris(N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, lead to the formation of (room-temperature) ionic liquids, which confirms that low-symmetry ions are indeed suitable to suppress crystallization. These materials combine low melting points, stable complex formation, and hydrophobicity and are therefore excellent candidates for nuclear fuel purification and recovery.

(1-Butyl-4-methyl-pyridinium)[Cu(SCN)2]: a coordination polymer and ionic liquid.

The compound (C4C1py)[Cu(SCN)2], (C4C1py = 1-Butyl-4-methyl-pyridinium), which can be obtained from CuSCN and the ionic liquid (C4C1py)(SCN), turns out to be a new organic-inorganic hybrid material as it qualifies both, as a coordination polymer and an ionic liquid. It features linked [Cu(SCN)2](-) units, in which the thiocyanates bridge the copper ions in a µ1,3-fashion. The resulting one-dimensional chains run along the a axis, separated by the C4C1py counterions. Powder X-ray diffraction not only confirms the single-crystal X-ray structure solution but proves the reformation of the coordination polymer from an isotropic melt. However, the materials shows a complex thermal behavior often encountered for ionic liquids such as a strong tendency to form a supercooled melt. At a relatively high cooling rate, glass formation is observed. When heating this melt in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature-dependent polarizing optical microscopy (POM), investigations reveal the existence of a less thermodynamically stable crystalline polymorph. Raman measurements conducted at 10 and 100 °C point towards the formation of polyanionic chain fragments in the melt. Solid-state UV/Vis spectroscopy shows a broad absorption band around 18,870 cm(-1) (530 nm) and another strong one below 20,000 cm(-1) (<500 nm). The latter is attributed to the d(Cu(I))→π*(SCN)-MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) transition within the coordination polymer yielding an energy gap of 2.4 eV. At room temperature and upon irradiation with UV light, the material shows a weak fluorescence band at 15,870 cm(-1) (630 nm) with a quantum efficiency of 0.90(2) % and a lifetime of 131(2) ns. Upon lowering the temperature, the luminescence intensity strongly increases. Simultaneously, the band around 450 nm in the excitation spectrum decreases.

Ionothermal synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic study of Co2PO4OH isostructural with caminite.

A new framework cobalt(II) hydroxyl phosphate, Co2PO4OH, was prepared by ionothermal synthesis using 1-butyl-4-methyl-pyridinium hexafluorophosphate as the ionic liquid. As the formation of Co2PO4F competes in the synthesis, the synthesis conditions have to be judiciously chosen to obtain well-crystallized, single phase Co2PO4OH. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses reveal Co2PO4OH crystallizes with space group I41/amd (a = b = 5.2713(7) Å, c = 12.907(3) Å, V = 358.63(10) Å(3), and Z = 4). Astonishingly, it does not crystallize isotypically with Co2PO4F but rather isotypically with the hydroxyl minerals caminite Mg1.33[SO4(OH)0.66(H2O)0.33] and lipscombite Fe(2­y)PO4(OH) (0 ≤ y ≤ 2/3). Phosphate tetrahedra groups interconnect four rod-packed face-sharing ∞(1){CoO(6/2)} octahedra chains to form a three-dimensional framework structure. The compound Co2PO4OH was further characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform­infrared, and ultraviolet­visible spectroscopy, confirming the discussed structure. The magnetic measurement reveals that Co2PO4OH undergoes a magnetic transition and presents at low temperatures a canted antiferromagnetic spin order in the ground state.

Spatially resolved investigation of the oil composition in single intact hyphae of Mortierella spp. with micro-Raman spectroscopy.

Zygomycetes are well known for their ability to produce various secondary metabolites. Fungi of the genus Mortierella can accumulate highly unsaturated lipids in large amounts as lipid droplets. However, no information about the spatial distribution or homogeneity of the oil inside the fungi is obtainable to date due to the invasive and destructive analytical techniques applied so far. Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated to be well suited to investigate biological samples on a micrometre scale. It also has been shown that the degree of unsaturation of lipids can be determined from Raman spectra. We applied micro-Raman spectroscopy to investigate the spatial distribution and composition of lipid vesicles inside intact hyphae. For Mortierella alpina and Mortierella elongata distinct differences in the degree of unsaturation and even the impact of growth conditions are determined from the Raman spectra. In both species we found that the fatty acid saturation in the vesicles is highly variable in the first 600 µm of the growing hyphal tip and fluctuates towards a constant composition and saturation ratio in all of the remaining mycelium. Our approach facilitates in vivo monitoring of the lipid production and allows us to investigate the impact of cultivation parameters on the oil composition directly in the growing hyphae without the need for extensive extraction procedures.

Intramolecular electron transfer in cyanide bridged adducts comprising Ru(II)/Ru(III) tetracarboxylate and [Mn(I)(CO)(CN)((t)BuNC)(4)] units.

Reaction of mixed valence ruthenium tetracarboxylates [Ru(2)(II,III)(R(1)COO)(2)(R(2)COO)(2)Cl] (R(1) = Me, R(2) = 2,4,6-(i)Pr-Ph or R(1) = R(2) = (t)Bu) with two equivalents of the octahedral manganese complex [Mn(I)(CO)(CN)((t)BuNC)(4)] leads to the formation of cyanide bridged heteronuclear coordination compounds of the general formula {[Ru(2)(II,III)(R(1)COO)(2)(R(2)COO)(2)][Mn(I)(CO)(CN)((t)BuNC)(4)](2)}Cl. In solution an intramolecular electron transfer from manganese towards the multiply bonded Ru(2) core occurs that is verified by EPR and IR spectroscopy, magnetic measurements and DFT calculations. Nevertheless, disproportionation of an initially formed {Mn(I)-Ru(2)(II,III)-Mn(I)}(+) adduct into {Mn(II)-Ru(2)(II,III)-Mn(I)}(2+) and {Mn(I)-Ru(2)(II,II)-Mn(I)} species cannot be completely ruled out.

Hydrogen bonds as structural directive towards unusual polynuclear complexes: synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes with a 2-aminoglucose ligand.

The reaction of benzyl 2-amino-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (HL) with the metal salts Cu(ClO(4))(2)6 H(2)O and Ni(NO(3))(2)6 H(2)O affords via self-assembly a tetranuclear mu(4)-hydroxido bridged copper(II) complex [(mu(4)-OH)Cu(4)(L)(4)(MeOH)(3)(H(2)O)](ClO(4))(3) (1) and a trinuclear alcoholate bridged nickel(II) complex [Ni(3)(L)(5)(HL)]NO(3) (2), respectively. Both complexes crystallize in the acentric space group P2(1). The X-ray crystal structure reveals the rare (mu(4)-OH)Cu(4)O(4) core for complex 1 which is mu(2)-alcoholate bridged. The copper(II) ions possess a distorted square-pyramidal geometry with an [NO(4)] donor set. The core is stabilized by hydrogen bonding between the coordinating amino group of the glucose backbone and the benzylidene protected oxygen atom O4 of a neighboring {Cu(L)} fragment as hydrogen-bond acceptor. For complex 2 an [N(4)O(2)] donor set is observed at the nickel(II) ions with a distorted octahedral geometry. The trinuclear isosceles Ni(3) core is bridged by mu(3)-alcoholate O3 oxygen atoms of two glucose ligands. The two short edges are capped by mu(2)-alcoholate O3 oxygen atoms of the two ligands coordinated at the nickel(II) ion at the vertex of these two edges. Along the elongated edge of the triangle a strong hydrogen bond (244 pm) between the O3 oxygen atoms of ligands coordinating at the two relevant nickel(II) ions is observed. The coordinating amino groups of the these two glucose ligands are involved in additional hydrogen bonds with O4 oxygen atoms of adjacent ligands further stabilizing the trinuclear core. The carbohydrate backbones in all cases adopt the stable (4)C(1) chair conformation and exhibit the rare chitosan-like trans-2,3-chelation. Temperature dependent magnetic measurements indicate an overall antiferromagnetic behavior for complex 1 with J(1)=-260 and J(2)=-205 cm(-1) (g=2.122). Compound 2 is the first ferromagnetically coupled trinuclear nickel(II) complex with J(A)=16.4 and J(B)=11.0 cm(-1) (g(1,2)=2.183, g(3)=2.247). For the high-spin nickel(II) centers a zero-field splitting of D(1,2)=3.7 cm(-1) and D(3)=1.8 cm(-1) is observed. The S=3 ground state of complex 2 is consistent with magnetization measurements at low temperatures.

Chiral tetranuclear mu3-alkoxo-bridged copper(II) complex with 2 + 4 cubane-like Cu4O4 core framework and ferromagnetic ground state.

The sugar-modified Schiff base ligand benzyl 2-deoxy-2-salicylideneamino-alpha-D-glucopyranoside H 2L, prepared by condensation of salicylaldehyde and the monomeric chitosan analogue benzyl 2-deoxy-2-amino-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, reacts with copper(II) acetate to form a self-assembled, alkoxo-bridged tetranuclear homoleptic copper(II) complex [{Cu(L)}4] (4) with Cu4O4 heterocubane core. The chiral complex 4 crystallizes in the space group P2 12 12 1. The tetranuclear complex 4 is composed of two dinuclear {Cu(L)}2 entities linked by the four mu 3-bridging C-3 alkoxide oxygen atoms of the sugar backbone. The preorganization of the dimeric {Cu(L)}2 entities is enforced by strong hydrogen bonds between the phenolate oxygen atom and the C-4 hydroxy group of the two constituting chiral monomeric building blocks. Therefore the Cu4O4 core can be classified as a type I or 2 + 4 cubane. The chirality of the structure is confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) spectra, which reveal a significant dichroism associated with the copper centered transitions at around 600 nm. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate ferromagnetic exchange interactions in complex 4. Fitting of the experimental data with a two J model based on the 2 + 4 topology ( H = - J1(S1S3 + S2S4) - J2(S1 + S3)(S2 + S4)) leads to exchange coupling constants of J1 = 64 and J2 = 4 cm(-1). The observed ferromagnetic coupling can be attributed to the very small Cu-O-Cu bridging angles within the Cu2O2 core of the constituting dimeric entities, which are a result of the conformational requirements introduced by the sugar backbone. 4 is not only the first example of an alkoxo-bridged tetranuclear copper(II) complex with Cu4O4 core representing the 2 + 4 cubane class with ferromagnetic ground state but also a rare example for the class of molecules combining a ferromagnetic ground state with optical activity. The ferromagnetic S = 2 ground state of 4 is confirmed by magnetization measurements and ESR spectroscopy.

Kit for unsymmetric dinucleating double-Schiff-base ligands: facile access to a versatile new ligand system and its first heterobimetallic copper-zinc complex.

The synthetic route toward new unsymmetric compartmental "end-off" Schiff-base ligands in a straightforward two-step reaction of 2,6-diformyl-4-methylphenol and two different amine components is presented. To demonstrate the versatility of this method, we have synthesized two different single-Schiff-base proligands, Hbpahmb and Hphmb, utilizing (2-aminoethyl)bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and (2-aminomethyl)pyridine, respectively. Subsequent reaction with thiosemicarbazide as the second amine component leads to the novel unsymmetric double-Schiff-base ligands {1-[3-[2-[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino]ethyliminomethyl]-2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl]methylidene}hydrazine carbothioamide (H2bpamptsc) and {1-[3-(pyridin-2-ylmethyliminomethyl)-2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl]methylidene}hydrazine carbothioamide (H2pmptsc). Both ligands provide two distinctly different coordination pockets: a rigid tridentate N,O,S donor set of the hydrazide compartment versus a rather flexible pentadentate (H2bpamptsc) or tridentate (H2pmptsc) nitrogen-rich chelating side arm. The reaction of the ligand H2bpamptsc with zinc(II) acetate and copper(II) perchlorate yields the heterobinuclear Cu-Zn complex [CuZn(bpamptsc)(mu2,eta1-OAc)(MeCN)](ClO4) (1).