Homoleptic tetranuclear complexes of divalent tin and lead tetraolates.

Homoleptic tetranuclear complexes of divalent tin and lead tetraolates, M(4)(hfpt)(2) [M = Sn (1) and Pb (2); hfpt(4-) is an anion of 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentane-2,2,4,4-tetraol], have been obtained in high yield from the corresponding (trimethylsilyl)amides. The solid-state structures of 1 and 2 contain discrete molecules in which a butterfly tetrahedron of metal atoms is sandwiched between two tetraolate ligands acting in tetradentate mode. The lone-pair Sn(2+) and Pb(2+) cations exhibit pyramidal coordination of four ligand oxygen atoms. A multinuclear NMR study unambiguously confirmed that metal tetraolates retain their polynuclear structure in solution of even coordinating solvents. An interesting example of the strong through-space coupling between (19)F of the tetraolate trifluoromethyl groups and (117/119)Sn or (207)Pb nuclei was found. Both compounds were shown to have clean, low-temperature decomposition that results in crystalline oxides SnO(2) and PbO, respectively, for 1 and 2. This work demonstrates the remarkable coordination properties of the tetraolate ligand that can be utilized for the preparation of a wide variety of poly- and heterometallic complexes. Decomposition studies revealed a great potential of metal tetraolate complexes as prospective molecular precursors for the soft chemistry approach to oxide materials.

Monomeric square-planar cobalt(II) acetylacetonate: mystery or mistake?

No evidence was found for the existence of a previously reported mononuclear square-planar form of unsolvated cobalt(II) acetylacetonate, Co(acac)(2), in all samples that have been obtained by using a variety of preparative techniques and crystallization conditions. It was confirmed that the structure of tetramer Co(4)(acac)(8), reported back in 1964 by Cotton and Elder, is correct, the synthesis is reproducible, and the bulk material corresponds to single-crystal data. Additionally, the title compound can be isolated in tetranuclear form by reducing cobalt(III) acetylacetonate with cobalt metal in solvent-free conditions or by crystallization from a hexanes solution. At the same time, from noncoordinating halogenated solvents, Co(acac)(2) crystallizes as a trinuclear core molecule, in which all Co atoms also exhibit octahedral coordination. From coordinating solvents such as ethanol, cobalt(II) acetylacetonate was found to appear in the form of its bis-adduct Co(acac)(2)(EtOH)(2). On the basis of observations made in this work and the details presented in the original paper, we suggest that the reported mononuclear structure of square-planar acetylacetonate should likely contain copper instead of cobalt.

Fluorinated tetraolate: prospective ligand for the synthesis of polymetallic complexes.

The potential of fluorinated tetraolate as a ligand for the synthesis of polynuclear metal complexes has been demonstrated.

New class of single-source precursors for the synthesis of main group-transition metal oxides: heterobimetallic Pb-Mn beta-diketonates.

Heterometallic lead-manganese beta-diketonates have been isolated in pure form by several synthetic methods that include solid-state and solution techniques. Two compounds with different Pb/Mn ratios, PbMn(2)(hfac)(6) (1) and PbMn(hfac)(4) (2) (hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate), can be obtained in quantitative yield by using different starting materials. Single crystal X-ray investigation revealed that the solid-state structure of 1 contains trinuclear molecules in which lead metal center is sandwiched between two [Mn(hfac)(3)] units, while 2 consists of infinite chains of alternating [Pb(hfac)(2)] and [Mn(hfac)(2)] fragments. The heterometallic structures are held together by strong Lewis acid-base interactions between metal atoms and diketonate ligands acting in chelating-bridging fashion. Spectroscopic investigation confirmed the retention of heterometallic structures in solutions of non-coordinating solvents as well as upon sublimation-deposition procedure. Thermal decomposition of heterometallic diketonates has been systematically investigated in a wide range of temperatures and annealing times. For the first time, it has been shown that thermal decomposition of heterometallic diketonates results in mixed-metal oxides, while both the structure of precursors and the thermolysis conditions have a significant influence on the nature of the resulting oxides. Five different Pb-Mn oxides have been detected by X-ray powder diffraction when studying the decomposition of 1 and 2 in the temperature range 500-800 degrees C. The phase that has been previously reported as "Pb(0.43)MnO(2.18)" was synthesized in the pure form by decomposition of 1, and crystallographically characterized. The orthorhombic unit cell parameters of this oxide, obtained by electron diffraction technique, have been subsequently refined using X-ray powder diffraction data. Besides that, a previously unknown lead-manganese oxide has been obtained at low temperature decomposition and short annealing times. The parameters of its monoclinically distorted unit cell have been determined. The EDX analysis revealed that this compound has a Pb/Mn ratio close to 1:4 and contains no appreciable amount of fluorine.

Coherence selection in double CP MAS NMR spectroscopy.

Applications of double cross-polarization (CP) magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy, via (1)H/(15)N and then (15)N/(13)C coherence transfers, for (13)C coherence selection are demonstrated on a (15)N/(13)C-labeled N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) compound. The (15)N/(13)C coherence transfer is very sensitive to the settings of the experimental parameters. To resolve explicitly these parameter dependences, we have systematically monitored the (13)C{(15)N/(1)H} signal as a function of the rf field strength and the MAS frequency. The data reveal that the zero-quantum coherence transfer, with which the (13)C effective rf field is larger than that of the (15)N by the spinning frequency, would give better signal sensitivity. We demonstrate in one- and two-dimensional double CP experiments that spectral editing can be achieved by tailoring the experimental parameters, such as the rf field strengths and/or the MAS frequency.

A 13C solid-state NMR analysis of steroid compounds.

(13)C CP/MAS solid-state NMR spectroscopy has been utilized to analyze six steroid compounds, namely testosterone (Tes), hydrocortisone (Cor), trans-dehydroandrosterone (Adr), prednisolone (Prd), prednisone (Pre) and estradiol (Est). Among them, Tes displays a doublet pattern for all residues, whereas Prd, Pre and Est, exhibit exclusively singlets. For Cor and Adr, the (13)C spectra contain both doublet and singlet patterns. The (13)C doublet signal, with splittings of 0.2-1.5 ppm, are ascribed to local differences in the ring conformations associated with polymorphism. We have assigned all of the (13)C resonances to the different residues in these steroid compounds on the basis of solution NMR data. The C-7, C-8, C-10, C-15 and C-16 residues of Tes, Cor and Adr consistently give rise to singlets or doublets with splittings of less than 0.5 ppm, indicating similar local conformations. Accompanying hydration and dehydration processes, a reversible phase transformation between delta- and alpha-crystal forms has been observed in Tes, corresponding to singlet and doublet (13)C patterns, respectively. To further characterize the ring conformations in the alpha-form, we have successfully extracted chemical shift tensor elements for the (13)C doublets. It is demonstrated that (13)C solid-state NMR spectroscopy provides a reliable and sensitive means of characterizing polymorphism in steroids.