The Field of Main Group Lewis Acids and Lewis Superacids: Important Basics and Recent Developments

New developments in the field of Lewis acidity are highlighted, with the focus of novel Lewis acids and Lewis superacids of group 2, 13, 14, and 15 elements. Several important basics, illustrated by modern examples (classification of Donor-Acceptor (DA) complexes, amphoteric nature of any compound in terms of DA interactions, reorganization energies of main group Lewis acids and the role of the energies of frontier orbitals) are presented and discussed. It is emphasized that the Lewis acidity phenomena are general and play vital role in different areas of chemistry: from weak "atomophilic" interactions to the complexes of Lewis superacids.

Functionalized Triazines and Tetrazines: Synthesis and Applications

The molecules possessing triazine and tetrazine moieties belong to a special class of heterocyclic compounds. Both triazines and tetrazines are building blocks and have provided a new dimension to the design of biologically important organic molecules. Several of their derivatives with fine-tuned electronic properties have been identified as multifunctional, adaptable, switchable, remarkably antifungal, anticancer, antiviral, antitumor, cardiotonic, anti-HIV, analgesic, anti-protozoal, etc. The objective of this review is to comprehensively describe the recent developments in synthesis, coordination properties, and various applications of triazine and tetrazine molecules. The rich literature demonstrates various synthetic routes for a variety of triazines and tetrazines through microwave-assisted, solid-phase, metal-based, [4+2] cycloaddition, and multicomponent one-pot reactions. Synthetic approaches contain linear, angular, and fused triazine and tetrazine heterocycles through a combinatorial method. Notably, the triazines and tetrazines undergo a variety of organic transformations, including electrophilic addition, coupling, nucleophilic displacement, and intramolecular cyclization. The mechanistic aspects of these heterocycles are discussed in a detailed way. The bioorthogonal application of these polyazines with various strained alkenes and alkynes provides a new prospect for investigations in chemical biology. This review systematically encapsulates the recent developments and challenges in the synthesis and possible potential applications of various triazine and tetrazine systems.

Iodine‐Chemisorption, Interpenetration and Polycatenation: Cationic MOFs and CPs from Group 13 Metal Halides and Di‐Pyridyl‐Linkers

Eight cationic, two‐dimensional metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized in reactions of the group 13 metal halides AlBr₃, AlI₃, GaBr₃, InBr₃ and InI₃ with the dipyridyl ligands 1,2‐di(4‐pyridyl)ethylene (bpe), 1,2‐di(4‐pyridyl)ethane (bpa) and 4,4’‐bipyridine (bipy). Seven of them follow the general formula ²_∞[MX₂(L)₂]A, M=Al, In, X=Br, I, A⁻=[MX₄]⁻, I⁻, I₃⁻, L=bipy, bpa, bpe. Thereby, the porosity of the cationic frameworks can be utilized to take up the heavy molecule iodine in gas‐phase chemisorption vital for the capture of iodine radioisotopes. This is achieved by switching between I⁻ and the polyiodide I₃⁻ in the cavities at room temperature, including single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal transformation. The MOFs are 2D networks that exhibit (4,4)‐topology in general or (6,3)‐topology for ²_∞[(GaBr₂)₂(bpa)₅][GaBr₄]₂⋅bpa. The two‐dimensional networks can either be arranged to an inclined interpenetration of the cationic two‐dimensional networks, or to stacked networks without interpenetration. Interpenetration is accompanied by polycatenation. Due to the cationic character, the MOFs require the counter ions [MX₄]⁻, I⁻ or I₃⁻ counter ions in their pores. Whereas the [MX₄]⁻, ions are immobile, iodide allows for chemisorption. Furthermore, eight additional coordination polymers and complexes were identified and isolated that elaborate the reaction space of the herein reported syntheses.

Transformation of the coordination nanostructures of 4,4',4''-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl) tribenzoic acid molecules on HOPG triggered by the change in the concentration of metal ions

The modulation effects of Cu²⁺/Fe³⁺ ions on the hydrogen-bonded structure of 4,4',4''-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl) tribenzoic acid (TATB) on a HOPG surface have been investigated at the liquid-solid interface by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). STM observations directly demonstrated that the self-assembled honeycomb network of TATB has been dramatically transformed after introducing CuCl₂/FeCl₃ with different concentrations. The metal-organic coordination structures are formed due to the incorporation of the Cu²⁺/Fe³⁺ ions. Interestingly, a Cu²⁺ ion remains coordinated to two COOH groups and only the number of COOH groups involved in coordination doubles when the concentration of Cu²⁺ ions doubled. A Fe³⁺ ion changes from coordination to three COOH groups to two COOH groups after increasing the concentration of Fe³⁺ ions in a mixed solution. Such results suggest that the self-assembled structures of TATB molecules formed by metal-ligand coordination bonds can be effectively adjusted by regulating the concentration of metal ions in a mixed solution, which has rarely been reported before. It explains that the regulatory effect of concentration leads to the diversity of molecular architectures dominated by coordination bonds.

Structural variety of aluminium and gallium coordination polymers based on bis-pyridylethylene: from molecular complexes to ionic networks

Diverse molecular (0D and 1D) as well as ionic (0D, 1D, 2D, mixed 1D–2D) crystal structures of complexes of aluminium and gallium trihalides with bis(4-pyridylethylene) were obtained by solvent-free melt reactions.