The Effect of Pressure on Magnetic Properties of Prussian Blue Analogues

Magnetoelectric interaction in molecular multiferroic nanocomposites

Incorporation of magnetic and electric orders in a form of multiferroics is an interesting topic in materials science. Making a molecular heterogeneous composite by incorporating the molecular magnet vanadium–chromium Prussian blue analogue (V–Cr PBA) and a molecular ferroelectric imidazolium chloride C₃N₂H₅-ClO₄ (ImClO₄) provides a pathway towards achieving the room temperature magnetoelectric effect. The change of magnetization of about 6% is shown as a result of applying an electric field (21 kV cm⁻¹) to the composite made of the aforementioned molecular crystals at room temperature. In the ferromagnetic resonance measurement (FMR) under the effect of an applied electric field, a shift of the resonance magnetic field is also observed in the nanocomposites. This work provides a pathway towards molecular multiferroic nanocomposites with magnetoelectric coupling interactions at room temperature.

Incorporation of molecular magnetic and ferroelectric V–Cr PBA and ImClO₄ introduces a room temperature multiferroic composite.

Robust dual modality antibacterial action using silver-Prussian blue nanoscale coordination polymer

We report the synthesis of novel silver-doped Prussian blue nanoscale coordination polymers (SPB NCPs), for dual modality photothermal ablation and oxidative toxicity in bacterial cells. The comparison of SPB NCPs (having Fe-CN-Ag bonds) with the conventionally used Prussian blue nanoscale coordination polymers (PB NCPs, having Fe-CN-Fe bonds) was investigated in terms of their physical and therapeutic properties. It was observed that both PB and SPB NCPs have similar physical dimensions, crystalline phase and optical properties. Both these NCPs showed robust photothermal effect by heat generation (hyperthermia) upon exposure to red laser light. However, among the two, only SPB NCP showed oxidase-like activity by generating H₂O₂ in aqueous medium, presumably due to its silver content. In vitro antibacterial studies revealed that the SPB NCPs, but not PB NCPs, show inherent toxicity towards bacteria with an IC₅₀ value close to 2.5 μg/ml. It can be inferred that this toxicity is oxidative in nature, as a result of the oxidase-like behaviour shown by SPB NCPs. Furthermore, light activation resulted in substantial additional antibacterial effect (photothermal toxicity) in bacterial cells treated with SPB NCPs. In comparison, marginal additional photothermal toxicity was observed in PB NCP-treated bacteria. Thus, we conclude that the combination of dual modality oxidative and photothermal toxicities demonstrated by SPB NCPs, but not by control PB NCPs, makes the former promising antibacterial agents at low dosages.

A Short Review of Current Computational Concepts for High-Pressure Phase Transition Studies in Molecular Crystals

High-pressure chemistry of organic compounds is a hot topic of modern chemistry. In this work, basic computational concepts for high-pressure phase transition studies in molecular crystals are described, showing their advantages and disadvantages. The interconnection of experimental and computational methods is highlighted, showing the importance of energy calculations in this field. Based on our deep understanding of methods’ limitations, we suggested the most convenient scheme for the computational study of high-pressure crystal structure changes. Finally, challenges and possible ways for progress in high-pressure phase transitions research of organic compounds are briefly discussed.