Ln(ii) and Ca(ii) NCsp3N pincer type diarylmethanido complexes – promising catalysts for C–C and C–E (E = Si, P, N, S) bond formation

The first examples of Ln(ii) (Ln = Yb, Sm) and Ca [NC_sp3N] pincer type diarylmethanido complexes were synthesized and successfully used as efficient and selective precatalyst for intermolecular C–C and C–E bond formation.

Heterobimetallic Ba/Li and Ca/Li amides and diphenylmethanide

Rare examples of stable heterobimetallic Ca/Li and Ba/Li amido polymeric species, as well as an ate Ca/Li diphenylmethanide compound stable in ethers, have been structurally characterised. Intra- and intermolecular metal⋯H–Si interactions are shown to play a key role.

Selective modification of the metal coordination environment in heavy alkaline–earth iodide complexes

The controlled formation of group 2 coordination complexes involves issues of metal acidity, ligand basicity, solvent effects, and steric pressure.

A magnesium-based multifunctional metal-organic framework: synthesis, thermally induced structural variation, selective gas adsorption, photoluminescence and heterogeneous catalytic study

Three magnesium based carboxylate framework systems were prepared through a temperature-dependent synthesis. The compounds were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. A stepwise increase in the temperature of the medium resulted a stepwise increase in the dimensionality of the network, ultimately leading to the formation of a new 2D layered alkaline earth metal-organic framework (MOF) compound, {[Mg2(HL)2(H2O)4]·H2O}n (1) (H3L = pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylate). Compound 1 selectively adsorbs hydrogen (H2) (ca. 0.56 wt% at 77 K) over nitrogen at 1 atm and demonstrates a strong blue fluorescent emission band at 480 nm (λ(max)) upon excitation at 270 nm. Notably, the 2D framework compound efficiently catalyzes the aldol condensation reactions of various aromatic aldehydes with ketones in a heterogeneous medium under environmentally friendly conditions. The catalyst can be recycled and reused several times without any significant loss of activity.

Cation radii induced structural variation in fluorescent alkaline earth networks constructed from tautomers of a nucleobase analogue

Nucleobase tautomers and their metal complexes have attracted considerable attention due to their fascinating architectures along with wide applications. In this paper, 4,6-dihydroxypyrimidine (H(2)DHP), an analogue of uracil and thymine, was employed to react with the vital elements of alkaline earth metals in an aqueous solution and lead to the formation of four novel complexes, [Mg(HDHP)(2) (H(2)O)(4)] (1), [Ca(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](n)·nH(2)O (2), [Sr(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(3)](n)·nH(2)O (3), and [Ba(HDHP)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](n)·nH(2)O (4), which have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG, UV-Vis, PL, powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction and progressively evolve from zero-dimensional (0D) mononuclear, one-dimensional (1D) zig-zag double chain, two-dimensional (2D) double layer, to a three-dimensional (3D) porous network along with the increase of cation radii. This tendency in dimensionality follows salient crystal engineering principles and can be explained by considering factors such as hard-soft acid-base principles and cation radii. The deprotonated H(2)DHP ligand exhibits four new coordination modes, namely, O-monodentate (complex 1), N,O-chelating (complexes 2 and 3), O,O-bridging (complexes 2 and 3), and κ(1)O:κ(2)O-bridging mode (complex 4). Interestingly, the structural investigation indicates that the HDHP(-) monoanion shows three unusual types of tautomers, which are essential for the diagnosis of disease and investigation of medicine. Furthermore, the four complexes exhibit strong blue emission compared to free H(2)DHP ligand at room temperature and may be potential candidates for blue fluorescent biological materials used in organisms.

Coordination polymers with pyridine-2,4,6-tricarboxylic acid and alkaline-earth/lanthanide/transition metals: synthesis and X-ray structures

Pyridine-2,4,6-tricarboxylic acid (ptcH(3)) reacts with Cd(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II), Ba(II), Dy(III) salts forming different products depending on the reaction conditions. In the presence of pyridine at room temperature the acetate, chloride or nitrate salt of Cd(II) breaks the ligand to form an open framework structure with the empirical formula, {[Cd(Ox)(H(2)O)(2)]H(2)O}(n) (Ox = oxalate), 1. In the absence of pyridine, no crystalline compound could be isolated at room temperature (RT). However, under hydrothermal conditions and in the absence of pyridine, a discrete tetrameric complex with the formula, {[Cd(2)(cda)(2)(H(2)O)(4)](H(2)O)(3)}(2) (cdaH(2) = 4-hydroxypyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid), 2, is formed where the carboxylate group at the 4-position of the ligand is reduced to a hydroxyl group. When Ni(II), Mn(II), Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II), Ba(II), Dy(III) salts are used in place of Cd(II), no crystalline product could be isolated at RT. But under hydrothermal conditions, coordination polymers ({[Ni(1.5)(ptc)(pip)(0.5)(H(2)O)(4)].H(2)O}(n), (pip = piperazine), 3; {Mn(1.5)(ptc).2H(2)O}(n), 4; {Mg(3)(ptc)(2).8H(2)O}(n), 5; {[Mg(ptc)(H(2)O)(2)].1/2[Mg(H(2)O)(6)].H(2)O}(n), 6; {Ca(1.5)(ptc).2H(2)O}(n), 7; {Sr(1.5)(ptc).5H(2)O}(n), 8; {[Ba(ptc)(H(2)O)][Ba(ptcH(2))H(2)O]}(n), 9; {[Dy(ptc).3H(2)O].H(2)O}(n), 10) are formed. The structures exhibit different dimensionality depending on the nature of the metal ions. In 1 a discrete acyclic water hexamer is also identified. All the compounds are characterized in the solid state by X-ray crystallography, IR and elemental analysis.