Unusual Magnetism of an Unsymmetrical Trinickel Chain

Metal-Backboned Polymers with Well-Defined Lengths

Constructing the backbones of polymers with metal atoms is an attractive strategy to develop new functional polymeric materials, but it has yet to be studied due to synthetic challenges. Here, metal atoms are interconnected as the backbones of polymers to yield metal-backboned polymers (MBPs). Rational design of multidentate ligands synthesized via an efficient iterative approach leads to the successful construction of a series of nickel-backboned polymers (NBPs) with well-defined lengths and up to 21 nickel atoms, whose structures are systematically confirmed. These NBPs exhibit strong and length-depended absorption with narrow band gaps, offering promising applications in optoelectronic devices and semiconductors. We also demonstrate the high thermal stability and solution processsability of such nickel-backboned polymers. Our results represent a new opportunity to design and synthesize a variety of new metal-backboned polymers for promising applications in the future.

Fine-Tuning of Magnetic Properties in Nickel(II) Trinuclear EMACs via Modifications of Equatorial Ligands

The relationship between equatorial ligands structures and magnetic response of [Ni3]6+ extended metal atom chain core has been investigated. The distances between metal ions in Ni metal strings are largely predefined by framework provided through equatorial ligands. The equatorial ligands thus have primary influence on the magnitude of magnetic coupling between terminal high spin centers. Since the σ channel has greatest contribution to J, the variations in Ni–Ni bond lengths have immediate and strong effect on magnetic properties. The secondary, yet important role is played by ligand field strength and nucleophilicity. It has been shown that energy difference between singly occupied σ-type MOs composed of d(z2) of terminal ions and doubly occupied σ-type MO evolved from d(z2) of the central ion in antiferromagnetic state solution is inversely proportional to magnitude of J. Hence, the alignment between energies of d(z2) orbitals on HS and LS centers directly affected by ligand field strength governs the magnetic response. Moreover, the greater basicity of lone pairs coordinating terminal metal atoms correlates with the larger absolute value of magnetic coupling constant.

Facile synthesis of heterotrimetallic metal-string complex [NiCoRh(dpa)4Cl2] through direct metal replacement

This communication provides a practical strategy for the synthesis of heterotrimetallic extended metal atom chains with supported dpa(-) ligands. The transformation of the CoCoRh to a NiCoRh trinuclear complex can be achieved by direct metallic replacement. Furthermore, the first (CoRh)(4+) metal-metal bond is described here.

Metal-metal interactions in linear tri-, penta-, hepta-, and nona-nuclear ruthenium string complexes

Density functional theory (DFT) methodology was used to examine the structural properties of linear metal string complexes: [Ru(3)(dpa)(4)X(2)] (X = Cl(-), CN(-), NCS(-), dpa = dipyridylamine(-)), [Ru(5)(tpda)(4)Cl(2)], and hypothetical, not yet synthesized complexes [Ru(7)(tpta)(4)Cl(2)] and [Ru(9)(ppta)(4)Cl(2)] (tpda = tri-α-pyridyldiamine(2-), tpta = tetra-α-pyridyltriamine(3-), ppta = penta-α-pyridyltetraamine(4-)). Our specific focus was on the two longest structures and on comparison of the string complexes and unsupported ruthenium backboned chain complexes, which have weaker ruthenium-ruthenium interactions. The electronic structures were studied with the aid of visualized frontier molecular orbitals, and Bader's quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) was used to study the interactions between ruthenium atoms. The electron density was found to be highest and distributed most evenly between the ruthenium atoms in the hypothetical [Ru(7)(tpta)(4)Cl(2)] and [Ru(9)(ppta)(4)Cl(2)] string complexes.