Temperature and magnetic field dependence of a Kondo system in the weak coupling regime.

The Kondo effect arises due to the interaction between a localized spin and the electrons of a surrounding host. Studies of individual magnetic impurities by scanning tunneling spectroscopy have renewed interest in Kondo physics; however, a quantitative comparison with theoretical predictions remained challenging. Here we show that the zero-bias anomaly detected on an organic radical weakly coupled to a Au (111) surface can be described with astonishing agreement by perturbation theory as originally developed by Kondo 60 years ago. Our results demonstrate that Kondo physics can only be fully conceived by studying both temperature and magnetic field dependence of the resonance. The identification of a spin 1/2 Kondo system is of relevance not only as a benchmark for predictions for Kondo physics but also for correlated electron materials in general.

A tripodal molecule on a gold surface: orientation-dependent coupling and electronic properties of the molecular legs.

The realization of molecular electronics demands a detailed knowledge of the correlation between chemical groups and electronic function. It has become obvious during the last years that the conformation of a molecule and its coupling to the connecting electrodes plays a crucial role in its conductance behavior and its electronic function, e.g., as a switch. Knowledge about these relationships is therefore essential for future design of molecular electronic building blocks. We present a new three-dimensional molecule, consisting of three identical molecular wires connected to a headgroup. Due to the well-defined spatial arrangement of the molecule in a nonplanar geometry, it is possible to investigate the conductance behavior of these wires with respect to their position and coupling to the surface electrode with the submolecular resolution of a scanning tunneling microscope. The experimental findings are supported by calculations of the electronic structure and conformation of the molecule on the surface by density functional theory with dispersion corrections.

Isolated facial and meridional tris(bipyridine)Ru(II) for STM studies on Au(111).

Tripodal facial and meridional Ru(II) complexes comprising three conjugated legs with acetyl-protected thiol end groups are designed, synthesized and isolated for investigation on a gold surface. Preliminary ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunnelling microscopy (UHV STM) measurements of a monolayer of facial isomer deposited on Au(111) are presented.

Photophysical properties of binuclear ruthenium(ii) bis(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine) complexes built around a central 2,2'-bipyrimidine receptor.

A binuclear complex has been synthesized having ruthenium(ii) bis(2,2':6',2''-terpyridine) terminals attached to a central 2,2'-bipyrimidine unit via ethynylene groups. Cyclic voltammetry indicates that the substituted terpyridine is the most easily reduced subunit and the main chromophore involves charge transfer from the metal centre to this ligand. The resultant metal-to-ligand, charge-transfer (MLCT) triplet state is weakly emissive and has a lifetime of 60 ns in deoxygenated solution at room temperature. The luminescence yield and lifetime increase with decreasing temperature in a manner that indicates the lowest-energy MLCT triplet couples to at least two higher-energy triplets. Cations can bind to the central bipyrimidine unit, forming both 1:1 and 1:2 (ligand:metal) complexes as confirmed by electrospray MS analysis. The photophysical properties depend on the number of bound cations and on the nature of the cation. In the specific case of binding zinc(ii) cations, the 1:1 complex has a triplet lifetime of 8.0 ns while that of the 1:2 complex is 1.8 ns. The 1:1 complexes formed with Ba(2+) and Mg(2+) are more luminescent than is the parent compound while the 1:2 complexes are much less luminescent. It is shown that the coordinated cations raise the reduction potential of the central bipyrimidine unit and thereby increase the activation energy for coupling with the metal-centred state. Complexation also introduces a non-emissive intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) state that couples to the lowest-energy MLCT triplet and provides an additional non-radiative decay route. The triplet state of the 1:2 complex formed with added Zn(2+) cations decays preferentially via this ICT state.

Synthesis, structure, and magnetism of a 1D compound engineered from a biradical [5,5'-Bis(3''-oxide-1''-oxyl-4'',4'',5'',5''-tetramethylimidazolin-2''-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine] and Mn(II)(hfac)2.

The synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of a one-dimensional compound, {[Mn(hfac)2]2(biradical)}n (1), resulting from the coordination of bis(hexafluoroacethylacetonato)manganese(II) [Mn(hfac)2] with a biradical obtained by grafting two nitronyl nitroxide radicals in the 5 and 5' positions of a 2,2'-bipyridine ligand are described. Compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic P space group with the following parameters: a = 11.905(2) A, b = 12.911(2) A, c = 20.163(3) A, alpha = 73.556(3) degrees , beta = 80.850(3) degrees , gamma = 82.126(3) degrees , Z = 2. The bipyridyl moiety acts as a chelate toward one [Mn(hfac)2] unit, while the pendent nitronyl nitroxide radicals are symmetrically bound in trans-configuration to additional [Mn(hfac)2] units. The result is infinite chains running along the c axis direction with the biradical bridging [Mn(hfac)2] units with pending bipyridine/Mn(hfac)2 cores. The magnetic behavior is characteristic of ferrimagnetic chains. Qualitatively we observe first the antiferromagnetic coupling (J2) of each manganese(II) center with two nitronyl nitroxide moieties, leading to a minimum in the chiT product of 6.63 emu K mol(-1) observed at 70 K and corresponding to a ground spin state S = 3/2 plus one extra spin S = 5/2 coming from the pending manganese(II) center. The increase of chiT at lower temperature is understood as a fictive ferromagnetic coupling related to the true antiferromagnetic coupling J1 of the pseudospin S = 3/2 with spin S = 5/2 of the pending manganese(II). Along this approach (H = -JSiSj) the best fit (300-8 K) of the experimental data leads to J1 = -0.622 +/- 0.022 cm(-1) and J2 = -203 +/- 3 cm(-1) with g(Rad) = 2.0017 +/- 0.0015 and g(Mn) = 2.0017 +/- 0.0015.

Intramolecular exchange interaction in twofold spin-labelled platinum complexes.

The synthesis and the crystal structures of two platinum bis-ethynyl-phenyl-nitronyl-nitroxide complexes are reported and solution EPR investigations evidenced the intramolecular exchange interaction through a diamagnetic transition metal based spacer.

Strong exchange interactions between two radicals attached to nonaromatic spacers deduced from magnetic, EPR, NMR, and electron density measurements.

A nitronyl-nitroxide (NIT) biradical D-NIT2 linked by a single double bond has been engineered and investigated in the solid state by a combination of X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility measurement, EPR, as well as solid-state (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopies, and experimental electron density distribution. All techniques reveal that a double bond is a very efficient coupling unit for exchange interactions between two radical moieties. Using a Bleaney-Bowers model dimer (H = -JS(1)S(2)), a singlet-triplet energy gap of J = -460 K was found with the singlet state being the ground state. This very strong intramolecular interaction was confirmed by EPR measurements in CH(2)Cl(2) solution (6 10(-4) M) or dispersed in a polymer matrix at low concentration. In keeping with these unusual interactions, solid-state NMR signals of the biradical were found to be considerably less shifted than those found for related monoradicals. Temperature-dependent solid-state (13)C NMR spectra of D-NIT2 confirmed the very strong intramolecular coupling constant (J = -504 K). The electron density distribution of D-NIT2 was measured by high resolution X-ray diffraction, which also revealed that this biradical is an ideally conjugated system. The in-depth characterization includes the deformation maps and the observed electron density ellipticities, which exhibit a pronounced sigma-pi character of the O-N-C=C-N-O cores in keeping with an efficient electronic delocalization along the alkene spacer.

cis-[Ru(2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine)(DMSO)Cl(2)]: useful precursor for the synthesis of heteroleptic terpyridine complexes under mild conditions.

[Ru(II)(terpy)(DMSO)Cl(2)] complexes were synthesized as a 5/1 mixture of cis and trans isomers, and their reactivities with CO and with substituted 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine (terpy) moieties have been investigated. The structure of a trans isomer and its CO adduct have been unambiguously assigned by spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The [Ru(terpy)(terpy-Br)](2+) complex prepared either from the cis-[Ru(II)(terpy)(DMSO)Cl(2)] or from the cis-[Ru(II)(terpy-Br)(DMSO)Cl(2)] precursor appeared to be reactive in cross-coupling reactions promoted by low-valent palladium(0) and is an attractive target for the stepwise synthesis of polynuclear complexes bearing vacant coordination sites (terpy-Br for 4'-bromo-2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine). Several bipyridine, phenanthroline, and bipyrimidine complexes were prepared this way and their optical and redox properties determined and discussed.

Syntheses of pyridine and bipyridine frameworks combining dual fluorescent and magnetic probes.

[structure: see text] 2,6-Disubstituted pyridines, 6-substituted 2,2'-bipyridines, and 6,6'-disubstituted 2,2'-bipyridines are readily prepared under mild conditions from 5-(dimethylamino)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide chloride (DANS-Cl) and chloromethyl-nitronyl nitroxide (CH(2)Cl-NIT) starting materials and adequately functionalized building blocks. The syntheses of the pyridine molecules bearing two radicals and a DANS fragment first required the attachment of the aliphatic radical onto an aldehyde-protected dansylated compound, followed by the construction of the second aromatic radical.

Aminomethyl-bipyridine bearing two flexible nitronyl-nitroxide arms: a new podand for complexation of transition metals in a facial or meridional conformation.

Transition metal complexes of 6-aminomethyl-bis[methyl-2-(4,5-dihydro-4,4,5,5- tetramethylimidazolinyl-3-oxide-l-oxy)]-2,2'-bipyridine, bpyN(NIT)(2), 1, have been synthesized and characterized by FAB-MS, UV-vis, FT-IR, and EPR spectroscopies, elemental analysis, and susceptibility measurements. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies have been performed on all compounds giving the following crystal data: bpyN(NIT)(2), 1, triclinic, P(-)1, Z = 2, a = 10.7224(4) A, b = 11.0995(4) A, c = 13.1134(3) A, alpha = 114.101(9) degrees, beta = 97.476(9) degrees, gamma = 99.667(9) degrees; ZnbpyN(NIT)(2), 2, hexagonal, P3(2), Z = 3, a = 15.4545(3) A, b = 15.4545(3) A, c = 13.5594(3) A; NibpyN(NIT)(2), 3, hexagonal, P3(2), Z = 3, a = 15.2867(1) A, b = 15.2867(1) A, c = 13.7160(1) A; CubpyN(NIT)(2), 4, triclinic, P(-)l, Z = 2, a = 11.8640(4) A, b = 13.2023(4) A, c = 13.2661(5) A, alpha = 90.539(9) degrees, beta = 104.983(9) degrees, gamma = 113.252(9) degrees. The two radicals of the free ligand 1 are almost perpendicular to one another in the solid state, favoring a weak ferromagnetic interaction (J/k(B) = 8.8 K). The complexes obtained by wrapping the ligand around a single metal center gave rise to two different coordination schemes where the two radicals of 1 adopt a ON(3)O meridional (with Ni and Zn) or a ON(3)O facial conformation (with Cu), which strongly affects the magnetic and electronic properties (O accounts for the coordinated oxygen atoms of the nitroxide radicals and N(3) accounts for the tertiary amine). For 2, a model of a dimer has been used giving rise to a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between the radicals (J/k(B) = -5.3 K). For 3, a very strong intramolecular antiferromagnetic coupling has been found and estimated at J/k(B) = -230 K and J'/k(B) = -110 K between the nickel and each radical using an asymmetric model of a trimer. For 4, an unusual magnetic behavior is observed, dominated by antiferromagnetic interactions with a residual plateau at chiT = 0.63 emu.K.mol(-)(1). Molecular modeling at the CASSCF level is in keeping with an antiferromagnetic coupling of the radical bound with the Cu(II) in the equatorial position. The combined structural, electronic, and magnetic characteristics suggest that the use of a flexible molecule provide an additional approach for fine-tuning magnetic interactions.

A copper(II) complex of a pentadentate ligand featuring large ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions.

A novel pentadentate ligand based on a 2,2'-bipyridine template and functionalized with two methylene bridged nitroxide arms provides mononuclear Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes displaying a facial and meridional conformation, respectively; for Cu large intramolecular ferromagnetic (J/kB = +173 K) and antiferromagnetic (J'/kB = -170 K) exchange interactions are evidenced from magnetic measurements.