Non-covalent interactions in molecular architectures and solvent-free catalytic activity towards CO2 fixation of mononuclear Co(III) complexes installed on modified Schiff base ligands.

A set of mononuclear cobalt(III) octahedral complexes {[Co(LH)(acac)] (Co-1H), [Co(LBr)(acac)] (Co-1Br), and [Co(LNO2)(acac)] (Co-1NO2)} were synthesized using new-generation N/O donors, maleonitrile-tethered, tetradentate heteroscorpionate half-reduced Schiff base ligands, 2-((E)-2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)-3-(pyridin-2-ylmethylamino)maleonitrile (H2LH), 2-((E)-(5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)-3-((pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)maleonitrile (H2LBr), and 2-((E)-2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzylideneamino)-3-(pyridin-2-ylmethylamino)maleonitrile (H2LNO2). All the compounds were well characterized spectroscopically and structurally. The non-covalent interactions present in the lattice of Co-complexes were studied in detail to explain the molecular architecture using the Hirshfeld surface (HS) analysis. The catalytic activity of CO2 fixation towards epoxides under mild and solvent-free conditions was demonstrated. The synthesized complexes are catalysts that are well-active towards the CO2 activation under ambient conditions, whereas most of the reported catalysts require harsh conditions.

Anion-assisted supramolecular polymerization of luminescent organic π-conjugated chromophores in a moderately polar solvent: tunable nanostructures and their corresponding effects on electronic properties.

Supramolecular polymers of π-conjugated organic chromophores have emerged as promising candidates in organic electronics because of their dynamic and highly ordered molecular organization. Herein, we demonstrate the formation of luminescent, highly conducting supramolecular polymers of a functionalized naphthalimide π-chromophore-based organic semiconductor in a moderately polar organic solvent (tetrahydrofuran) by overcoming solute-solvent H-bonding via assistance from fluoride anions. The polymerization is exclusively guided by the synergistic effects of cascade H-bonding (F-⋯H-N- of primary amines, followed by -CO⋯H-N- of amides), π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions. An increasing molar equivalent of anions leads to a morphology transition from 1D nanowires to 2D nanosheets via nanotubes and nanorings, but above a particular threshold of the same anion, depolymerization-mediated disruption of long-range order and formation of non-luminescent spherical particles was observed. Such significant impacts of anions in supramolecular polymerization-depolymerization were utilized in modulating the electronic properties of this naphthalimide-based organic semiconductor.

Enzymatic Substrate Inhibition in Metal Free Catecholase Activity.

The catecholase activities were routinely modeled using transition metal complexes as catalyst and in some case basic pH were used as a reaction condition. In this article, the catalytic aerobic oxidation of proxy substrate 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol (DTBC) in methanol using triethylamine/diethylamine as catalyst was demonstrated as a functional mimic of catecholase activity. The kinetic manifestation of DTBC oxidation was explained as enzymatic substrate inhibition pattern in Michaelis-Menten kinetic model. The mechanistic insight of the aerobic oxidation of DTBC was further validated using various spectroscopic techniques and DFT methods.

Oxygen Activation by a Copper Complex with Sulfur-Only Coordination Relevant to the Formylglycine Generating Enzyme.

Synthesizing hydrosulfido Cu thiolate complexes is quite challenging. In this report, two new and rare hydrosulfido Cu thiolate complexes, [Et4N]2[(mnt)Cu-SH] (2, mnt = maleonitrile dithiolene = S2C2(CN)2) and [Et4N]3[(mnt)Cu-(µ-SH)-Cu(mnt)] (3), have been synthesized. Coordination sites and O2 activation by complex 2 resemble the formylglycine generating enzyme (FGE), an enzyme recently crystallographically characterized with sulfur-only coordination around Cu (three thiolate ligands). The function of this enzyme (and complex 2) is surprising because vulnerable thiolates should not be well suited for O2 activation rationally. Indeed, activation of oxygen by such an all-sulfur-coordinated Cu complex 2 is lacking in the literature. Aerial O2 (ambient O2 from the air) activation by complex 2 could proceed through a superoxide radical intermediate and a sulfur radical intermediate detected by resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, respectively. The chemistry of 2 has been examined by its reactivity, crystal structure, and spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetric analyses. In addition, the results have been complemented with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations.

Metal Ion (NiII vs CoII)-Mediated Unusual Amine-Imine Interconversion in Conjugated Amine-ene-imine Ligand: Synthesis, Structure, and Characterization.

Two configurationally isomeric ligands, namely, 2-((E)-benzylideneamino)-3-((pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)maleonitrile (HL1) and 2-(benzylamino)-3-((E)-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)amino)maleonitrile (HL2), were synthesized and fully characterized, which are malenonitrile-tethered, N atom donors tridentate ligands. Structurally, they differ in the interchangeable position of amine and imine group only. Under the same reaction condition, Ni(II) invoked the transformation of (L1)- to (L2)- via simultaneous oxidation of amine to imine and the reduction of imine to amine. Two sequential 1,5-proton transfer pathways were anticipated for this type of unusual amine-imine oxidation/reduction process under acidic medium. In contrast, Co(II) was silent to such amine-imine interconversion reactions under both HL1 and HL2 ligand environment. The variation in electronic requirement might differentiate between both ligands such that HL2 influenced the arial oxidation of Co(II) to Co(III) but HL1 could not. The redox chemistry of Co(II)/Co(III) complexes with either HL1 or HL2 was explained using cyclic voltammetry and UV-vis spectroscopy.