Fully Chelating N3O2-Pentadentate Planar Ligands Designed for the Strongest and Selective Capture of Uranium from Seawater

Based on the unique fivefold equatorial coordination of UO₂²⁺, water-compatible pentadentate planar ligands, H₂saldian and its derivatives, were designed for the strong and selective capture of UO₂²⁺ in seawater. In the simulated seawater condition (0.5 M NaCl + 2.3 mM HCO₃^-/CO₃^2-, pH 8), saldian^2- shows the strongest complexation with UO₂²⁺ to form UO₂(saldian) (log β₁₁ = 28.05 ± 0.07), which is more than 10 order of magnitude greater than amidoxime-based or -inspired ligand systems most commonly employed for U capture from seawater. Good selectivity for UO₂²⁺ from other metal ions coexisting in seawater was also demonstrated.

Ferro- vs. antiferromagnetic exchange between two Ni(II) ions in a series of Schiff base heterometallic complexes: what makes the difference?

Three new NiII/ZnII heterometallics, [NiZnL'2(OMe)Cl]2 (1), [NiZnL''(Dea)Cl]2·2DMF (2) and [Ni2(H3L''')2(o-Van)(MeOH)2]Cl·[ZnCl2(H4L''')(MeOH)]·2MeOH (3), containing three-dentate Schiff bases as well as methanol or diethanolamine (H2Dea) or o-vanillin (o-VanH), all deprotonated, as bridging ligands were synthesized and structurally characterized. The Schiff base ligands were produced in situ from o-VanH and CH3NH2 (HL'), or NH2OH (HL"), or 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-propane-1,3-diol (H4L'''); a zerovalent metal (Ni and Zn in 1, Zn only in 2 and 3) was employed as a source of metal ions. The first two complexes are dimers with a Ni2Zn2O6 central core, while the third compound is a novel heterometallic cocrystal salt solvate built of a neutral zwitterionic ZnII Schiff base complex and of ionic salt containing dinuclear NiII complex cations. The crystal structures contain either centrosymmetric (1 and 2) or non-symmetric di-nickel fragment (3) with NiNi distances in the range 3.146-3.33 Å. The exchange coupling is antiferromagnetic for 1, J = 7.7 cm-1, and ferromagnetic for 2, J = -6.5 cm-1 (using the exchange Hamiltonian in a form Ĥ = Jŝ1ŝ2). The exchange interactions in 1 and 2 are comparable to the zero-field splitting (ZFS). High-field EPR revealed moderate magnetic anisotropy of opposite signs: D = 2.27 cm-1, E = 0.243 cm-1 (1) and D = -4.491 cm-1, E = -0.684 cm-1 (2). Compound 3 stands alone with very weak ferromagnetism (J = -0.6 cm-1) and much stronger magnetic anisotropy with D = -11.398 cm-1 and E = -1.151 cm-1. Attempts to calculate theoretically the exchange coupling (using the DFT "broken symmetry" method) and ZFS parameters (with the ab initio CASSCF method) were successful in predicting the trends of J and D among the three complexes, while the quantitative results were less good for 1 and 3.

N-HO and N-HCl supported 1D chains of heterobimetallic CuII/NiII-SnIV cocrystals

The Schiff base H₂L¹ [N,N'-ethylenebis(3-methoxysalicylaldimine)] or H₂L² [N,N'-ethylenebis(3-ethoxysalicylaldimine)] was reacted with MCl₂·xH₂O and SnCl₄·5H₂O to afford the supramolecular heterobimetallic systems (H₂ED)²⁺·2[ML]·[SnCl₆]^2- [M = Cu, L = L¹ (1), L = L² (2); M = Ni, L = L¹ (3), L = L² (4); ED = 1,2-ethylenediamine], whose structures were established by single crystal X-ray analyses. Each structure includes different entities, viz. a mononuclear [CuL]/[NiL] neutral complex (coformer), a hexachlorostannate dianion [SnCl₆]^2-, a 1,2-ethylenediammonium dication (H₂ED²⁺) and, only in 2 and 4, a methanol molecule. Based on the work of Grothe et al. (Cryst. Growth Des., 2016, 16, 3237-3243), compounds 1 and 3 are cocrystal salts, 2 and 4 are cocrystal salt solvates. The ionic pairs (H₂ED)²⁺·[SnCl₆]^2- in 1-4 are encapsulated by the Cu- or Ni-complexes, and stabilized by N-HO and one N-HCl bond interactions leading to infinite 1D chains. The antimicrobial studies of 1-4 against yeasts (C. albicans and S. cerevisiae) and Gram-positive (S. aureus and E. faecalis) and -negative bacteria (P. aeruginosa and E. coli) indicate that the Ni₂Sn systems (3 and 4) are more active than the analogous Cu₂Sn ones (1 and 2).