Polynuclear chromium(III) carboxylates. 1. Synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of an octanuclear complex with a ring structure

Synthesis and Characterisation of Luminescent [CrIII 2 L(μ-carboxylato)]3+ Complexes with High-Spin S=3 Ground States (L=N6 S2 donor ligand)

The synthesis, structure, magnetic, and photophysical properties of two dinuclear, luminescent, mixed-ligand [CrIII 2 L(O2 CR)]3+ complexes (R=CH3 (1), Ph (2)) of a 24-membered binucleating hexa-aza-dithiophenolate macrocycle (L)2- are presented. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals an edge-sharing bioctahedral N3 Cr(μ-SR)2 (μ1,3 -O2 CR)CrN3 core structure with μ1,3 -bridging carboxylate groups. A ferromagnetic superexchange interaction between the electron spins of the Cr3+ ions leads to a high-spin (S=3) ground state. The coupling constants (J=+24.2(1) cm-1 (1), +34.8(4) cm-1 (2), H=-2JS1 S2 ) are significantly larger than in related bis-μ-alkoxido-μ-carboxylato structures. DFT calculations performed on both complexes reproduce both the sign and strength of the exchange interactions found experimentally. Frozen methanol-dichloromethane 1 : 1 solutions of 1 and 2 luminesce at 750 nm when excited into the 4 LMCT state on the 4 A2 → 2 T1 (ν2 ) bands (λexc =405 nm). The absolute quantum yields (ΦL ) for 1 and 2 were found to be strongly temperature dependent. At 77 K in frozen MeOH/CH2 Cl2 glasses, ΦL =0.44±0.02  (for 1), ΦL =0.45±0.02  (for 2).

A new heterometallic pivalate {Fe8Cd} complex as an example of unusual "ferric wheel" molecular self-assembly

The interaction of the pivalate complexes of iron(iii), [Fe3O(Piv)6(H2O)3]·HPiv, and cadmium(ii), [Cd(Piv)2], in Et2O resulted in one more type of "ferric wheel" family complex, namely [Fe8(Piv)16{Cd(Piv)2}(μ-OH)8]·Et2O (1). The complex is an octanuclear iron(iii) wheel with a {Cd(Piv)2} moiety asymmetrically incorporated into the ring.

Hyperstable chromium(iii)/manganese(ii) bimetallic wheel clusters with visible photoactivity

Two new chromium and manganese bimetallic nanoclusters, [Cr8-xMnx(OH)8-x(H2O)x(OOCC6H5)16, x = 1.11] (1) and [Cr4Mn4O4(OOCC6H5)12·3CH3CN·H2O] (2), have been synthesized in a one-pot solvothermal reaction in this work. Under visible irradiation, cluster 1 can produce an increased photocurrent and exhibits significant visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution in an aqueous system. Most importantly, it exhibits ultrahigh stability in both acid and base aqueous solutions, making it an excellent synthon for preparing functional materials.

A homoleptic chromium(iii) carboxylate

Structurally characterized chromium(iii) carboxylates form clusters with a variety of bridging groups introduced from aqueous reaction conditions. The first homoleptic monomeric chromium(iii) carboxylate has been prepared using an anhydrous salt metathesis synthetic route. The carboxylate groups coordinate the chromium in a bidentate chelate yielding an aliphatic soluble complex. The complex was characterized by a variety of methods including high energy X-ray diffraction, FD-MS, IR and Raman spectroscopy, complemented by DFT modeling.

Magneto-structural correlations in a family of di-alkoxo bridged chromium dimers

A series of di-alkoxo bridged Cr(iii) dimers have been synthesised using pyridine alcohol ligands.

Hybrid materials science: a promised land for the integrative design of multifunctional materials

For more than 5000 years, organic-inorganic composite materials created by men via skill and serendipity have been part of human culture and customs. The concept of "hybrid organic-inorganic" nanocomposites exploded in the second half of the 20th century with the expansion of the so-called "chimie douce" which led to many collaborations between a large set of chemists, physicists and biologists. Consequently, the scientific melting pot of these very different scientific communities created a new pluridisciplinary school of thought. Today, the tremendous effort of basic research performed in the last twenty years allows tailor-made multifunctional hybrid materials with perfect control over composition, structure and shape. Some of these hybrid materials have already entered the industrial market. Many tailor-made multiscale hybrids are increasingly impacting numerous fields of applications: optics, catalysis, energy, environment, nanomedicine, etc. In the present feature article, we emphasize several fundamental and applied aspects of the hybrid materials field: bioreplication, mesostructured thin films, Lego-like chemistry designed hybrid nanocomposites, and advanced hybrid materials for energy. Finally, a few commercial applications of hybrid materials will be presented.

Oxalate Bridged Copper Pyrazole Complex Templated Anderson-Evans Cluster Based Solids

The synthesis of four new Anderson-Evans type cluster based solids was carried out from an aqueous solution containing sodium molybdate, chromium chloride, cupric chloride and pyrazole at room temperature: [{Cr3O(CH3COO)6(H2O)3}2{H7CrMo6O24}]·24H2O, 1; [{Cu2(ox)(pz)4}{H7CrMo6O24}]·11H2O, 3; [{Cu(pz)2(H2O)2}{Cu2(ox)(pz)4}{H5CrMo6O24}]·8H2O, 4; and [{Cu(pz)3Cl}{Cu2(ox)(pz)4}{H6CrMo6O24}]·8H2O, 5. In 1, the discrete Anderson-Evans cluster aggregates with trimeric chromium acetate cationic complex through supramolecular interactions. In 3–5, the Anderson-Evans cluster is covalently linked into a 1D chain through oxalate bridged copper pyrazole units. In 3, the chains are further stabilized by water oligomers. In 4 and 5, the chains are covalently linked into 2D sheets by different copper pyrazole complexes. The oxalate molecules in 3–5 are probably generated in situ in the reaction medium, through a reductive coupling of dissolved carbon dioxide assisted by copper pyrazole units.

A Family of Ferro- and Antiferromagnetically Coupled Decametallic Chromium(III) Wheels

The synthesis and crystal structures of a family of decametallic Cr(III) "molecular wheels" are reported, namely [Cr10(OR)20(O2CR')10] [R' = Me, R = Me (1), Et (2); R' = Et, R = Me (3), Et (4); R' = CMe3, R = Me (5), Et (6)]. Magnetic studies on 1-6 reveal a remarkable dependence of the magnetic behaviour on the nature of R. In each pair of complexes with a common carboxylate (R') the nearest neighbour CrCr magnetic exchange coupling is more antiferromagnetic for the ethoxide-bridged (R = Et) cluster than for the methoxide analogue. In complexes 2, 4 and 6 the overall coupling is weakly antiferromagnetic resulting in diamagnetic (S = 0) ground states for the cluster, whilst in 1 and 5 it is weakly ferromagnetic thus resulting in very high-spin ground states. This ground state has been probed directly in the perdeuterated version of 1 ([D]1) by inelastic neutron scattering experiments, and these support the S = 15 ground state expected for ferromagnetic coupling of ten Cr(III) ions, and they also indicate that a single J-value model is inadequate. The ground state of 5 is large but not well defined. The trends in J on changing R are further supported by density functional calculations on 1-6, which are in excellent agreement with experiment. The very large changes in the nature of the ground state between 1 and 2, and 5 and 6 are the result of relatively small changes in J that happen to cross J = 0, hence changing the sign of J.

Aggregation of [(tBu3SiS)MX]: Structures of {[Br2Fe(μ-SSitBu3)2FeBr(THF)]Na(THF)4}∞, cis-[(THF)FeI]2(μ-SSitBu3)2, [(tBu3SiS)Fe]2(μ-SSitBu3)2, and Comparative Structure and Magnetism Studies of [(tBu3SiS)MX]n (M = Fe, Co, X = Cl, n = 12; M = Fe, Ni, X = Br, n = 12; M = Fe, X = I, n = 14)

A convenient synthesis of (t)Bu(3)SiSH and (t)Bu(3)SiSNa(THF)(x)() led to the exploration of "(t)Bu(3)SiSMX" aggregation. The dimer, [((t)Bu(3)SiS)Fe](2)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))(2) (1(2)), was formed from [{(Me(3)Si)(2)N}Fe](2)(mu-N(SiMe(3))(2))(2) and the thiol, and its dissolution in THF generated ((t)Bu(3)SiS)(2)Fe(THF)(2) (1-(THF)(2)). Metathetical procedures with the thiolate yielded aggregate precursors [X(2)Fe](mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))(2)[FeX(THF)]Na(THF)(4) (3-X, X = Cl, Br) and cis-[(THF)IFe](2)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))(2) (4). Thermal desolvations of 3-Cl, 3-Br and 4 afforded molecular wheels [Fe(mu-X)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))](12)(C(6)H(6))(n) (5-FeX, X = Cl, Br) and the ellipse [Fe(mu-I)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))](14)(C(6)H(6))(n) (6-FeI). Related metathesis and desolvation sequences led to wheels [Co(mu-Cl)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))](12)(C(6)H(6))(n) (5-CoCl) and [Ni(mu-Br)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))](12)(C(6)H(6))(n) (5-NiBr). The nickel wheel disproportionated to give, in part, [((t)Bu(3)SiS)Ni](2)(mu-SSi(t)Bu(3))(2) (7), which was also synthesized via salt metathesis. X-ray structural studies of 1(2) revealed a roughly planar Fe(2)S(4) core, while 1-(THF)(2), 3-Br, and 4 possessed simple distorted tetrahedral and edge-shared tetrahedral structures. X-ray structural studies revealed 5-MX (MX = FeCl, FeBr, CoCl, NiBr) to be wheels based on edge-shared tetrahedra, but while the pseudo-D(6)(d) wheels of 5-FeCl, 5-CoCl, and 5-FeBr pack in a body-centered arrangement, those of pseudo-C(6)(v)() 5-NiBr exhibit hexagonal packing and two distinct trans-annular d(Br...Br). Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted on 5-FeCl, 5-CoCl, 5-FeBr, and 6-FeI, and the latter three are best construed as weakly antiferromagnetic, while 5-FeCl exhibited modest ferromagnetic coupling. Features suggesting molecular magnetism are most likely affiliated with phase changes at low temperatures.