Metallo-supramolecular assemblies of dinuclear Zn(II) and Mn(II) secondary building units (SBUs) and a bent silicon dicarboxylate ligand

Dual crystalline-amorphous salen-metal complexes behave like nematic droplets with AIEgens vistas

A series of metal salen complexes, original in view of the presence in their structure of a highly flexible and hydrophobic spacer, were prepared on the basis of the reaction of 1,3-bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyldisiloxane with 3,5-dichloro-, 3,5-dibromo- and 3-hydroxy-salicylaldehyde and various metal ions (Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺). The isolated products were completely characterized from the structural point of view by FTIR, NMR, elemental analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction, and further investigated from the perspective of the behavior induced mainly by the structural peculiarities. Emphasis is placed on self-assembly properties, both in bulk and in solution, depending on temperature, solvent nature and concentration, including thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals (LC). LCs that appear in the form of nematic toroidal droplets have been fully demonstrated by polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and fluorescence anisotropy studies. The fluorescence analysis results revealed the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon, where the emission occurs only for liquid crystals, with a few exceptions. Because these complexes can exist in both amorphous and crystalline states, it raised the question of how properties, such as electrical, change when switching from one state to another. These were well highlighted by DSC, BDS, PXRD, FTIR and fluorescence anisotropy.

From Amorphous Silicones to Si-Containing Highly Ordered Polymers: Some Romanian Contributions in the Field

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), in spite of its well-defined helical structure, is an amorphous fluid even at extremely high molecular weights. The cause of this behavior is the high flexibility of the siloxane backbone and the lack of intermolecular interactions attributed to the presence of methyl groups. These make PDMS incompatible with almost any organic or inorganic component leading to phase separation in siloxane-siloxane copolymers containing blocks with polar organic groups and in siloxane-organic copolymers, where dimethylsiloxane segments co-exist with organic ones. Self-assembly at the micro- or nanometric scale is common in certain mixed structures, including micelles, vesicles, et cetera, manifesting reversibly in response to an external stimulus. Polymers with a very high degree of ordering in the form of high-quality crystals were obtained when siloxane/silane segments co-exist with coordinated metal blocks in the polymer chain. While in the case of coordination of secondary building units (SBUs) with siloxane ligands 1D chains are formed; when coordination is achieved in the presence of a mixture of ligands, siloxane and organic, 2D structures are formed in most cases. The Romanian research group's results regarding these aspects are reviewed: from the synthesis of classic, amorphous silicone products, to their adaptation for use in emerging fields and to new self-assembled or highly ordered structures with properties that create perspectives for the use of silicones in hitherto unexpected areas.

Crystal structure of the one-dimensional coordination polymer formed by the macrocyclic [Ni(cyclam)]2+ cation and the dianion of di-phenyl-silanediylbis(4-benzoic acid)

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, catena-poly[[[(1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-κ4 N 1,N 4,N 8,N 11)nickel(II)]-μ-4,4'-(di-phenyl-silanedi-yl)dibenz-o-ato-κ2 O:O'] sesquihydrate], {[Ni(C26H18O4Si)(C10H24N4)]·1.5H2O} n , consists of the halves of the centrosymmetric macrocyclic cation and the C 2-symmetric di-carboxyl-ate dianion and of the water mol-ecule of crystallization. The Ni2+ ion is coordinated by the four secondary N atoms of the macrocyclic ligand characterized by the most energetically favourable trans-III conformation and two mutually trans O atoms of the carboxyl-ate, forming a slightly tetra-gonally elongated trans-N4O2 octa-hedron. The crystals are composed of parallel polymeric chains of the macrocyclic cations linked by the anions of the acid running along the [101] direction. Each polymeric chain is bonded to four neighbouring ones via water mol-ecules providing O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds to the non-coordinated carboxyl O atoms to form a three-dimensional supra-molecular network.

A 2D coordination polymer assembled from a nickel(II) tetraazamacrocyclic cation and 4,4'-(dimethylsilanediyl)diphthalate(3-) linker

The preformed nickel(II) complex of the 14-membered macrocyclic ligand 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam, L), when treated with 4,4'-(dimethylsilanediyl)diphthalic acid (H₄A) in a DMF/H₂O mixture (4:1 v/v) under heating, leads to [Ni(L)]₃(HA)₂·3DMF (I·DMF). Redissolution of this compound in a DMF/H₂O/MeOH mixture (4:1:30 v/v/v) with mild acidification under gentle heating results in the formation of a similar compound but containing water and methanol molecules of crystallization, [Ni(L)]₃(HA)₂·5H₂O·2MeOH (II·H₂O). At lower temperature and concentration of reactants and longer reaction time, single crystals of composition {[{Ni(L)}₃(HA)₂]·4CH₃OH}_n (II·MeOH) were isolated. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of this compound, which, according to PXRD is isostructural with II·H₂O but different from I·DMF, revealed its two-dimensional (2D) polymeric structure, i.e. poly[[bis{μ₃-4-[(4-carboxy-3-carboxylatophenyl)dimethylsilyl]benzene-1,2-dicarboxylato-κ³O¹:O²:O^3'}tris(1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-κ⁴N)trinickel(II)] methanol tetrasolvate], {[Ni₃(C₁₈H₁₃O₈Si)₂(C₁₀H₂₄N₄)₃]·4CH₃OH}_n. It is built up of the monoprotonated tricarboxylate HA^3- ligand coordinated in a monodentate manner in the axial positions of two crystallographically independent Ni^II cations, one of which is located on a crystallographic inversion centre. Both metal ions adopt a slightly tetragonally elongated trans-N₄O₂ octahedral geometry. The compound has a lamellar structure with polymeric layers oriented parallel to the (10-2) plane, which are in turn linked via hydrogen bonds involving protonated carboxylic acid groups of the ligand. Bulk compounds I·DMF and II·H₂O were characterized by FT-IR and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and thermogravimetry, which provide evidence of their structural differences.