Molecular and heterogenized dinuclear Ir-Cp* water oxidation catalysts bearing EDTA or EDTMP as bridging and anchoring ligands

The development of efficient water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) is of key importance in order to drive sustainable reductive processes aimed at producing renewable fuels. Herein, two novel dinuclear complexes, [(Cp*Ir)₂(μ-κ³-O,N,O-H₄-EDTMP)] (Ir-H₄-EDTMP, H₄-EDTMP^4- = ethylenediamine tetra(methylene phosphonate)) and [(Cp*Ir)₂(μ-κ³-O,N,O-EDTA)] (Ir-EDTA, EDTA^4- = ethylenediaminetetraacetate), were synthesized and completely characterized in solution, by multinuclear and multidimensional NMR spectroscopy, and in the solid state, by single crystal X-Ray diffraction. They were supported onto rutile TiO₂ nanocrystals obtaining Ir-H₄-EDTMP@TiO₂ and Ir-EDTA@TiO₂ hybrid materials. Both molecular complexes and hybrid materials were found to be efficient catalysts for WO driven by NaIO₄, providing almost quantitative yields, and TON values only limited by the amount of NaIO₄ used. As for the molecular catalysts, Ir-H₄-EDTMP (TOF up to 184 min^-1) exhibited much higher activity than Ir-EDTA (TOF up to 19 min^-1), likely owing to the higher propensity of the former to generate a coordination vacancy through the dissociation of a Ir-OP bond (2.123 Å, significantly longer than Ir-OC, 2.0913 Å), which is a necessary step to activate these saturated complexes. Ir-H₄-EDTMP@TiO₂ (up to 33 min^-1) and Ir-EDTA@TiO₂ (up to 41 min^-1) hybrid materials showed similar activity that was only marginally reduced in the second and third catalytic runs carried out after having separated the supernatant, which did not show any sign of activity, instead. The observed TOF values for hybrid materials are higher than those reported for analogous systems deriving from heterogenized mononuclear complexes. This suggests that supporting dinuclear molecular precursors could be a successful strategy to obtain efficient heterogenized water oxidation catalysts.

Synthesis, Structures and Electrochemical Properties of Lithium 1,3,5-Benzenetricarboxylate Complexes

Four lithium coordination polymers, [Li₃(BTC)(H₂O)₆] (1), [Li₃(BTC)(H₂O)₅] (2), [Li₃(BTC)(μ₂-H₂O)] (3), and [Li(H₂BTC)(H₂O)] (4) (H₃BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylatic acid), have been synthesized and characterized. All the structures have been determined using single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Complexes 1 and 2 have two-dimensional (2-D) sheets, whereas complex 3 has three-dimensional (3-D) frameworks and complex 4 has one-dimensional (1-D) tubular chains. The crystal-to-crystal transformation was observed in 1⁻3 upon removal of water molecules, which accompanied the changes in structures and ligand bridging modes. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of complexes 3 and 4 have been studied to evaluate these compounds as electrode materials in lithium ion batteries with the discharge capacities of 120 and 257 mAhg-1 in the first thirty cycles, respectively.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (succinato-κO)[N,N,N',N'-tetra-kis-(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)ethyl-enedi-amine-κ5 O,N,N',O',O'']nickel(II) tetra-hydrate

In the title compound, [Ni(C10H24N2O4)(C4H4O4)]·4H2O, the NiII cation is octa-hedrally coordinated by one O atom of the succinate anion and three O atoms and two N atoms from an N,N,N',N'-tetra-kis-(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)ethyl-enedi-amine mol-ecule. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supra-molecular architecture. Hirshfeld surface analyses and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were used to analyse the inter-molecular inter-actions present in the crystal, indicating that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (63.3%) and H⋯O/O⋯H (34.5%) inter-actions.

A one-dimensional copper(II) coordination polymer incorporating succinate and N,N-diethylethylenediamine ligands: crystallographic analysis, vibrational and surface features, and DFT analysis

Transition metal atoms can be bridged by aliphatic dicarboxylate ligands to produce chains, layers and frameworks. The reaction of copper sulfate with succinic acid (H₂succ) and N,N-diethylethylenediamine (deed) in basic solution produces the complex catena-poly[[[(N,N-diethylethylenediamine-κ²N,N')copper(II)]-μ-succinato-κ²O¹:O⁴] tetrahydrate], {[Cu(C₄H₄O₄)(C₆H₁₆N₂)]·4H₂O}_n or {[Cu(succ)(deed)]·4H₂O}_n. Each carboxylate group of the succinate ligand coordinates to a Cu^II atom in a monodentate fashion, giving rise to a square-planar coordination environment. The succinate ligands bridge the Cu^II centres to form one-dimensional polymeric chains. Hydrogen bonds between the ligands and water molecules link these chains into sheets that lie in the ab plane. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to support the experimental data. From these calculations, a good linear correlation was observed between the experimental and theoretically predicted structural and spectroscopic parameters (R² ∼ 0.97).

Amorphization and disordering of metal–organic framework materials for rechargeable batteries by thermal treatment

A disordered MOF framework upon evacuation with improved Li storage properties. The structure order can be reestablished upon exposure to water.

Reversible Lithium Storage in Manganese 1,3,5-Benzenetricarboxylate Metal-Organic Framework with High Capacity and Rate Performance

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with diverse structural chemistry are being projected as futuristic electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. In this work, we report synthesis of Mn-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate MOF by a simple solvothermal method and its application as an anode material for the first time. Scanning electron microscopy of the synthesized MOF shows a bar shaped morphology where these bars, about 1 μm wide and of varied lengths between 2 and 20 μm, are made of porous sheets containing mesoporous walls and macroporous channels. The MOF anode, when examined in the potential window of 0.01-2.0 V versus Li/Li(+), shows high specific capacities of 694 and 400 mAh g(-1) at current densities of 0.1 and 1.0 A g(-1) along with good cyclability, retention of capacity, and sustenance of the MOF network. Ex situ X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies on the electrode material at different states of charge suggest that the usual conversion reaction for Li storage might not be applicable in this case. Conjugated carboxylates being weakly electron withdrawing ligands with a stronger π-π interaction, a probable alternative Li storage mechanism has been proposed that involves the organic moiety. The present results show promise for applying Mn-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate MOF as high performance <2 V anode.

Multidimensional (0D to 3D) Alkaline-Earth Metal Diphosphonates: Synthesis, Structural Diversity, and Luminescence Properties

A series of new alkaline-earth metal diphosphonate frameworks were successfully synthesized under solvothermal reaction condition (160 °C, 3 d) using 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (CH3C(OH)(H2PO3)2, hedpH4) as a diphosphonate building block and Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II), or Ba(II) ions as alkaline-earth metal ion centers in water, dimethylformamide, and/or EtOH media. These diphosphonate frameworks, (H2NMe2)4[Mg(hedpH2)3]·3H2O (1), (H2NMe2)2[Ca(hedpH2)2] (2), (H2NMe2)2[Sr3(hedpH2)4(H2O)2] (3), and [Ba3(hedpH2)3]·H2O (4) exhibited interesting structural topologies (zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional (0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D, respectively)), which are mainly depending on the metal ions and the solvents used in the synthesis. The single-crystal analysis of these newly synthesized compounds revealed that 1 was a 0D molecule, 2 has 1D chains, 3 was a 3D molecule, and 4 has 2D layers. All compounds were further characterized using thermogravimetric analysis, solid-state (31)P NMR, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, UV-vis spectra, and infrared spectroscopy. In addition, Eu(III)- and Tb(III)-doped compounds of 1-4, namely, (H2NMe2)4[Ln(x)Mg(1-x)(hedpH2)2(hedpH(2-x))]·3H2O (1Ln), (H2NMe2)2[Ln(x)Ca(1-x)(hedpH2)(hedpH(2-x))] (2Ln), (H2NMe2)2[Ln(x)Sr(3-x)(hedpH2)3(hedpH(2-x))(H2O)2] (3Ln), and [Ln(x)Ba(3-x)(hedpH2)2(hedpH(2-x))]·H2O (4Ln) (where Ln = Eu, Tb), were synthesized, and their photoluminescence properties were studied. The quantum yield of 1Eu-4Eu was measured with reference to commercial red phosphor, Y2O2S:Eu(3+) (YE), and the quantum yield of terbium-doped compounds 1Tb-4Tb was measured with reference to commercial green-emitting phosphor CeMgAl10O17:Tb(3+). Interestingly, the compound 2Eu showed very high quantum yield of 92.2%, which is better than that of the reference commercial red phosphor, YE (90.8%).