Electronic Raman spectroscopy of the vanadium(III) hexaaqua cation in guanidinium vanadium sulphate: Quintessential manifestation of the dynamical Jahn–Teller effect

Stimulated Raman generation of aqueous singlet oxygen without photosensitizers

Singlet oxygen is traditionally produced via photosensitizer molecules such as methylene blue, which function as catalysts. Here we investigate stimulated Raman generation of singlet oxygen from dissolved oxygen in both water (H₂O) and heavy water (D₂O) using nanosecond-pulsed visible blue laser light in the 400-440 nm spectral region without singlet oxygen photosensitizers. We report an oxygen-dependent Stokes peak in the red spectrum (600-670 nm) that is identical when produced in H₂O and D₂O. These red Stokes photons are not detected when an oxygen quencher is present. Temporal photodepletion of the uric acid absorbance peak at 294 nm is consistent with singlet oxygen generation. We postulate that a two-photon stimulated Raman process produces singlet oxygen from O₂ dissolved within the solvents. We note that the energy difference between input and output photons of 0.97 eV is precisely the energy needed to excite O₂ to its singlet state.

Spin-phonon couplings in transition metal complexes with slow magnetic relaxation

Spin–phonon coupling plays an important role in single-molecule magnets and molecular qubits. However, there have been few detailed studies of its nature. Here, we show for the first time distinct couplings of g phonons of Co^II(acac)₂(H₂O)₂ (acac = acetylacetonate) and its deuterated analogs with zero-field-split, excited magnetic/spin levels (Kramers doublet (KD)) of the S = 3/2 electronic ground state. The couplings are observed as avoided crossings in magnetic-field-dependent Raman spectra with coupling constants of 1–2 cm⁻¹. Far-IR spectra reveal the magnetic-dipole-allowed, inter-KD transition, shifting to higher energy with increasing field. Density functional theory calculations are used to rationalize energies and symmetries of the phonons. A vibronic coupling model, supported by electronic structure calculations, is proposed to rationalize the behavior of the coupled Raman peaks. This work spectroscopically reveals and quantitates the spin–phonon couplings in typical transition metal complexes and sheds light on the origin of the spin–phonon entanglement.

Transition metal complexes that display slow magnetic relaxation show promise for information storage, but our mechanistic understanding of the magnetic relaxation of such compounds remains limited. Here, the authors spectroscopically and computationally characterize the strength of spin–phonon couplings, which play an important role in the relaxation process.

Structural and anti-oxidant properties of guanidinium pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylates

Multicomponent crystals (either salts or co-crystals) of pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylic acid (H₃pzdc) with the nitrogen-containing organic bases guanidine (Gun), aminoguanidine (Agun), diaminoguanidine (Dagun) and triaminoguanidine (Tagun) have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, TG-DTA, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Spectroscopic properties of guanidinium zinc sulphate [C(NH2)3]2Zn(SO4)2 and ab initio calculations of [C(NH2)3]2 and HC(NH2)3

Raman and FTIR spectra of guanidinium zinc sulphate [C(NH(2))(3)](2)Zn(SO(4))(2) are recorded and the spectral bands assignment is carried out in terms of the fundamental modes of vibration of the guanidinium cations and sulphate anions. The analysis of the spectrum reveals distorted SO(4)(2-) tetrahedra with distinct S-O bonds. The distortion of the sulphate tetrahedra is attributed to Zn-O-S-O-Zn bridging in the structure as well as hydrogen bonding. The CN(3) group is planar which is expressed in the twofold symmetry along the C-N (1) vector. Spectral studies also reveal the presence of hydrogen bonds in the sample. The vibrational frequencies of [C(NH(2))(3)](2) and HC(NH(2))(3) are computed using Gaussian 03 with HF/6-31G* as basis set.

The Electronic Ground State of [V(urea)6]3+ Probed by NIR Luminescence, Electronic Raman, and High-Field EPR Spectroscopies

The electronic structure of a trigonally distorted vanadium(III) complex, [V(urea)6](ClO4)3, and its deuterated analogue, [V(urea-d4)6](ClO4)3 has been investigated with Raman, luminescence, and high-frequency high-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies and with magnetic measurements. A broad electronic Raman transition is observed at around 1400 cm(-1) and attributed to a transition to the (3)E (D3) component of the (3)T1g (O(h)) ground state. The same splitting is seen in the near-infrared luminescence spectrum in the form of a similarly broad peak at 8450 cm(-1), 1400 cm(-1) lower in energy than the (1)E --> (3)A2 spin-flip transition. Powder high-frequency and high-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, magnetic susceptibilities, and magnetization studies give a precise measurement of the zero-field splitting and of the g values in this complex (D = 6.00(2) cm(-1), E = 0.573(6) cm(-1), g(x) = 1.848(2), g(y) = 1.832(4), and g(z) = 1.946(7)). A set of angular overlap model parameters is proposed that reproduces all spectroscopic observations, and an analysis of the influence of the bonding of urea on the trigonal distortion of the complex is given.