Metal binding selectivity of oxa-aza macrocyclic ligand: a DFT study of first- and second-row transition metal for four coordination systems

A detailed theoretical study of the 1,7,1l,17-tetraoxa-2,6,12,16-tetraaza-cycloeicosane ligand ([20]AneN(4)O(4)) coordinated to Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ru2+, Rh2+, and Pd2+ transition metal ions was carried out with the B3LYP method. Two different cases were performed: when nitrogen is the donor atom (1a (q) ) and also with the oxygen as the donor atom (1b (q) ). For all the cases performed in this study 1a (q) structures were always more stable than the 1b (q) ones. Considering each row is possible to see that the energy increases with the increase of the atomic number. The M2+ cation binding energies for the 1a (q) complexes increase with the following order: Fe2+ < Ru2+ < Co2+ < Ni2+ < Rh2+ < Pd2+.

Ethanol and Water Adsorption on Close-Packed 3d, 4d, and 5d Transition-Metal Surfaces: A Density Functional Theory Investigation with van der Waals Correction

Nowadays, there is a great interest in the economic success of direct ethanol fuel cells; however, our atomistic understanding of the designing of stable and low-cost catalysts for the steam reforming of ethanol is still far from satisfactory, in particular due to the large number of undesirable intermediates. In this study, we will report a first-principles investigation of the adsorption properties of ethanol and water at low coverage on close-packed transition-metal (TM) surfaces, namely, Fe(110), Co(0001), Ni(111), Cu(111), Ru(0001), Rh(111), Pd(111), Ag(111), Os(0001), Ir(111), Pt(111), and Au(111), employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We employed the generalized gradient approximation with the formulation proposed by Perdew, Burke, and Erzenholf (PBE) to the exchange correlation functional and the empirical correction proposed by S. Grimme (DFT+D3) for the van der Waals correction. We found that both adsorbates binds preferentially near or on the on top sites of the TM surfaces through the 0 atoms. The PBE adsorption energies of ethanol and water decreases almost linearly with the increased occupation of the 4d and 5d d-band, while there is a deviation for the 3d systems. The van der Waals correction affects the linear behavior and increases the adsorption energy for both adsorbates, which is expected as the van der Waals energy due to the correlation effects is strongly underestimated by DFT-PBE for weak interacting systems. The geometric parameters for water/TM are not affected by the van der Waals correction, i.e., both DFT and DFT+D3 yield an almost parallel orientation for water on the TM surfaces; however, DFT+D3 changes drastically the ethanol orientation. For example, DFT yields an almost perpendicular orientation of the C-C bond to the TM surface, while the C-C bond is almost parallel to the surface using DFT +D3 for all systems, except for ethanol/Fe(110). Thus, the van der Waals correction decreases the distance of the C atoms to the TM surfaces, which might contribute to break the C-C bond. The work function decreases upon the adsorption of ethanol and water, and both follow the same trends, however, with different magnitude (larger for ethanol/TM) due to the weak binding of water to the surface. The electron density increases mainly in the region between the topmost layer and the adsorbates, which explains the reduction of the substrate work function.

First- and second-row transition metal oxa-aza macrocyclic complexes: a DFT study of an octahedral conformation

A theoretical study of structures of the 1,7,1 l,17-tetraoxa-2,6,12,16-tetraaza-cycloeicosane ligand ([20]AneN(4)O(4)) coordinated to Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ru2+, Rh2+, and Pd2+ transition metals ions was carried out with the DFT/B3LYP method. Complexes were fully optimized in C-s symmetry with the metal ions coordinated either to nitrogen (1a) or oxygen atoms (1b). For all the cases performed in this work, 1a was always more stable than 1b. Considering each row it is possible to see that the binding energy increases with the atomic number. The M2+ cation binding energies increase in the following order: Fe2+ < Ru2+ < Co2+ < Ni2+ < Rh2+ < Pd2+. In addition, it was observed the preference of Pd2+ and Rh2+ complexes for a tetrahedral arrangement, while Fe2+, Ru2+, Co2+, Ni2+ complexes had a preference for the octahedral arrangement. From the orbital representation results, it was seen that 1b unsymmetrical orbitals may influence the susceptibility over metal ions orientation toward heteroatoms orbitals.

Tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl substituted alkali- and transition metal guaiazulenides

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein prochirales, aus natürlichen Resourcen gewonnenes Azulen, das Guajazulen genutzt, um neuartige chirale Cyclopentadienyl-Systeme aufzubauen. Mit Alkalimetallhypersilaniden als starke und sperrige Nukleophile gelingt es hypersilylsubstituierte Gujazulenide zu synthetisieren. Diese wurden mittels Elementaranalyse, NMR-Spektroskopie und Röntgendiffraktometrie charakterisiert. Durch nachfolgende Metathesen mit Übergangsmetallhalogeniden konnten in vielen Fällen die entsprechenden Metallocene erhalten werden. Die Experimente enthüllen eine ausgeprägte Regioselektivität der Addition des sperrigen Hypersilyanions an das Guajazulen, die durch das eingesetzte Lösungsmittel graduell verändert werden kann. In nicht-koordinierenden Lösungsmitteln findet man ausschließlich eine Addition an der 6-Position, die 6-Hypersilyl-2,6-dihydroguajazulenide (6-Hyp-Hgual) (M=Li 1, K 2, Cs 4) in ausgezeichneten Ausbeuten liefert. In polaren Solventien erhält man hingegen Mischungen der 6- und 8-Regioisomeren: 2 bzw. (8-Hyp-Hgual) (3). 2 bleibt aber hierbei das Hauptprodukt. Röntgenbeugungsexperimente zeigen, dass 1 im Kristall als dimerer Sandwich-Komplex, meso-[Li2(6-Hyp-Hgual)2], und die THF-Solvate (thf)4K(6-Hyp-Hgual) (2a) sowie (thf)4K(8-Hyp-Hgual) (3a) jeweils als Halb-Sandwich-Komplexe in einer racemischen Mischung vorliegen. Die Verbindungen 1, 2, 3 and 4 eignen sich sehr gut dazu, in Metathesereaktionen als Precursor für neuartige chirale Metallozen-Komplexe eingesetzt zu werden. Insbesondere das Kaliumderivat 2 besticht durch die einfache und relativ preiswerte Synthese, die erzielten hohen Ausbeuten (>80%) und seine leichte Handhabbarkeit. In THF als Solvent wurden die Metallocene 5:5-M’(6-Hyp-Hgual)2 (M’ = Mn 5, Fe 6, Ni 8) und 5:5-Fe(8-Hyp-Hgual)2 (7) erhalten. Bei Verwendung einiger redox-aktiver Metallhalogenide beobachtet man jedoch die Zersetzung der Metallocene unter Bildung des oxidativen Kopplungsproduktes (3-Hyp-6-Hgual)2 (9) sowie der Ausscheidung von Metall. Die Umsetzung von Halogeniden der Gruppe 4 (TiCl3 and M’’Cl4 (M’’ = Ti, Zr, Hf)) mit 2 liefert in THF ausschließlich die Metallozendichloride M’’(6-Hyp-Hgual)2Cl2 (M’’ = Ti (10), Zr (11), Hf (12)). Die erhaltenen Metallozenderivate fallen als Diastereomeren-Gemische an, die sich durch fraktionierende Kristallisation teilweise oder vollständig in ihre Bestandteile, das jeweilige R,R-Racemat und das R,S-meso-Diastereomer auftrennen lassen. Die Strukturen der rac-Diastereomere konnten durch Beugungsexperimente aufgeklärt werden. Durch eine Metathese von 2 mit Hyp-Cl kann eine zweite Hypersilylgruppe in die 2-Position des Guajazulen-Gerüstes eingeführt werden. Das entstehende 2,6-bis(Hyp)-H2gua (14) kann anschließend mit nBuLi in das extrem luft- und feuchtigkeitsempfindliche Li[2,6-bis(Hyp)-Hgual] (15) überführt werden, dass wie 1 eine dimere Sandwich-Struktur aufweist. Durch Einführung des zweiten Hypersilylrestes werden die chemischen Eigenschaften des Azulenids dramatisch verändert. Während Verbindung 1 sich als guter Precursor für Metallocene erwies, gelang es uns bislang nicht, entsprechende Derivate der Verbindung 15 zu isolieren.

Luminescent Ionic Transition-Metal Complexes for Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

The European Union set the ambitious target of reducing energy consumption by 20% within 2020. This goal demands a tremendous change in how we generate and consume energy and urgently calls for an aggressive policy on energy efficiency. Since 19% of the European electrical energy is used for lighting, considerable savings can be achieved with the development of novel and more efficient lighting systems. In this thesis, accomplished in the frame of the EU project CELLO, I report some selected goals we achieved attempting to develop highly efficient, flat, low cost and flexible light sources using Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells (LECs), based on ionic cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes. After an extensive introduction about LECs and solid-state lighting in general, I focus on the research we carried out on cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes displaying deep-blue emission, which has turned out to be a rather challenging task. In order to demonstrate the wide versatility of this class of compounds, I also report a case in which some tailored iridium(III) complexes act as near-infrared (NIR) sources. In fact, standard NIR emitting devices are typically expensive and, also in this case, LECs could serve as low-cost alternatives in fields were NIR luminescence is crucial, such as telecommunications and bioimaging. Since LECs are based on only one active material, in the last chapter I stress the importance of an integrated approach toward the right selection of suitable emitters not only from the photophysical, but also from the point of view of material science. An iridium(III) complex, once in the device, is interacting with ionic liquids, metal cathodes, electric fields, etc. All these interactions should be taken in to account if Europe really wants to implement more efficient lighting paradigms, generating light beyond research labs.

Spin-strain coupling in a 3-D transition metal oxides

ab-initio Hartree Fock (HF), density functional theory (DFT) and hybrid potentials were employed to compute the optimized lattice parameters and elastic properties of perovskite 3-d transition metal oxides. The optimized lattice parameters and elastic properties are interdependent in these materials. An interaction is observed between the electronic charge, spin and lattice degrees of freedom in 3-d transition metal oxides. The coupling between the electronic charge, spin and lattice structures originates due to localization of d-atomic orbitals. The coupling between the electronic charge, spin and crystalline lattice also contributes in the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties in perovskites. The cubic and tetragonal crystalline structures of perovskite transition metal oxides of ABO3 are studied. The electronic structure and the physics of 3-d perovskite materials is complex and less well considered. Moreover, the novelty of the electronic structure and properties of these perovskites transition metal oxides exceeds the challenge offered by their complex crystalline structures. To achieve the objective of understanding the structure and property relationship of these materials the first-principle computational method is employed. CRYSTAL09 code is employed for computing crystalline structure, elastic, ferromagnetic and other electronic properties. Second-order elastic constants (SOEC) and bulk moduli (B) are computed in an automated process by employing ELASTCON (elastic constants) and EOS (equation of state) programs in CRYSTAL09 code. ELASTCON, EOS and other computational algorithms are utilized to determine the elastic properties of tetragonal BaTiO3, rutile TiO2, cubic and tetragonal BaFeO3 and the ferromagentic properties of 3-d transition metal oxides. Multiple methods are employed to crosscheck the consistency of our computational results. Computational results have motivated us to explore the ferromagnetic properties of 3-d transition metal oxides. Billyscript and CRYSTAL09 code are employed to compute the optimized geometry of the cubic and tetragonal crystalline structure of transition metal oxides of Sc to Cu. Cubic crystalline structure is initially chosen to determine the effect of lattice strains on ferromagnetism due to the spin angular momentum of an electron. The 3-d transition metals and their oxides are challenging as the basis functions and potentials are not fully developed to address the complex physics of the transition metals. Moreover, perovskite crystalline structures are extremely challenging with respect to the quality of computations as the latter requires the well established methods. Ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of bulk, surfaces and interfaces are explored by employing CRYSTAL09 code. In our computations done on cubic TMOs of Sc-Fe it is observed that there is a coupling between the crystalline structure and FM/AFM spin polarization. Strained crystalline structures of 3-d transition metal oxides are subjected to changes in the electromagnetic and electronic properties. The electronic structure and properties of bulk, composites, surfaces of 3-d transition metal oxides are computed successfully.

Structural Studies of Transition Metal Complexes with 4,5-Bis(2-pyridylmethylsulfanyl)-4‘,5‘-ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene: Probing Their Potential for the Construction of Multifunctional Molecular Assemblies

Three divalent transition metal complexes of 4,5-bis(2-pyridylmethylsulfanyl)-4‘,5‘-ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene have been prepared and crystallographically characterized. The isostructural Co(II) and the Ni(II) complexes show octahedral geometries around the metal ions with the coordination sites occupied by the pyridyl nitrogen atoms and the thioether sulfur atoms of the ligand and cis coordination of the halide ions. Cyclic voltammetry reveals that the complexation leads to a small anodic shift in the first oxidation potential of the TTF system.

Transition metal ligands as novel DNA-base substitutes

The base modified nucleoside dBP, carrying a non-hydrogen-bonding non-shape complementary base was incorporated into oligonucleotides (Brotschi, C.; Haberli, A.; Leumann C.J. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 3012-3014). This base was designed to coordinate transition metal ions into well defined positions within a DNA double helix. Melting experiments revealed that the stability of a dBP:dBP base couple in a DNA duplex is similar to a dG:dC base pair even in the absence of transition metal ions. In the presence of transition metal ions, melting experiments revealed a decrease in duplex stability which is on a similar order for all metal ions (Mn2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+) tested