Solid-State Properties of Hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile HAT(CN)6 .- Radical Anions in Crystalline Salts Containing Cryptand(M+ ) and Crystal Violet Cations

Crystalline {Cryptand[2.2.2](Na⁺ )}{HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }⋅0.5C₆ H₄ Cl₂ (1), {Cryptand[2.2.2](K⁺ )}{HAT(CN)₆ ^.- } (2), (CV⁺ ){HAT(CN)₆ ^.- } (3), and (CV⁺ ){HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }⋅2C₆ H₄ Cl₂ (4) salts (where CV⁺ is the crystal violet cation) containing hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile radical anions have been obtained. The solid-state molecular structure as well as the optical and magnetic properties of HAT(CN)₆ ^.- are studied. The formation of HAT(CN)₆ ^.- in 1-4 leads to the appearance of new bands in the visible range, at 694 and 740 nm. The HAT(CN)₆ ^.- radical anions have spin state S=1/2 and are packed in one-dimensional stacks containing the {HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }₂ dimers alternated with weaker interacting pairs of HAT(CN)₆ ^.- in 1 and nearly isolated {HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }₂ dimers in 2. The {HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }₂ dimers are diamagnetic in 1 but they effectively mediate one-dimensional antiferromagnetic coupling of spins within the stacks with moderate exchange interaction of J/k_B = -80 K. The behaviour of salt 2 is described by a singlet-triplet model for the {HAT(CN)₆ ^.- }₂ dimers with an energy gap of 434(±7) K. Magnetic behaviour of both salts agree well with the data of extended Hückel calculations. Salts 3 and 4 contain isolated stacks of alternated HAT(CN)₆ ^.- and CV⁺ ions, and in this case, nearly paramagnetic behaviour is observed with Weiss temperatures of -1 and -7 K, respectively. Narrow Lorentzian EPR signals with g = 2.0033-2.0039 were found for the HAT(CN)₆ ^.- radical anions in 1 and 4 but in solution g-factor shifts to 1.9964. The electronic structure of HAT(CN)₆ ^.- is analysed based on X-ray diffraction data for 2, showing a Jahn-Teller distortion of the radical anion that reduces the symmetry from D_3h to C_s and splits the initially degenerated LUMOs.

Recent advances in pristine tri-metallic metal-organic frameworks toward the oxygen evolution reaction

Pristine metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received much attention in recent years due to their high specific surface areas, large porosity, excellent pore size distributions, flexible structure, and remarkable catalytic properties. The design of functional MOFs that can function as efficient HER and OER catalysts is significant in solving the energy crisis but remains a big challenge. Tri-metallic metal-organic frameworks show a good application prospect in water oxidation. In this review, we are going to focus on the latest progress and future trends in the development of pristine trimetallic MOFs with respect to the OER. The synergistic effect between multi-metal active sites is effective at improving the intrinsic activity of MOFs toward the OER. By summarizing the synthesis method of tri-metallic MOFs and observing their performance toward the oxygen evolution reaction, we hope that this review will trigger new developments in coordination chemistry, electrochemistry, nanomaterials and energy materials.

Open-shell doublet character in a hexaazatrinaphthylene trianion complex

Three-electron reduction of hexaazatrinaphthylene (HAN) with a magnesium(I) reagent leads to [(HAN){Mg(nacnac)}3] (1), containing a [HAN](3-) ligand with a spin of S = 1/2. Ab initio calculations reveal that the [HAN](3-) ligand in 1 has a ground-state wave function with multiconfigurational properties, and can be described as a triradicaloid species with a small amount of open-shell doublet character.