Archive for the ‘Editors Choice’ Category

Chemical Communications: Editor’s Choice

Be sure to read our Editor’s Choice articles as chosen by Associate Editors Prof. Penny Brothers & Prof. Manfred Scheer!

Both articles are free-to-access until 4th October and can be found alongside our previously chosen articles in our online Editor’s Choice web-collection!

 

NO sorption, in-crystal nitrite and nitrate production with arylamine oxidation in gas–solid single crystal to single crystal reactions” by et al., as chosen by Penny Brothers:

This year marks 100 years since Alfred Werner’s death in 1919, and it is over a century since he won the 2013 Nobel prize for developing the conceptual framework that we now understand as coordination chemistry. Studies on cobalt complexes formed the cornerstone of Werner’s work, and this paper shows they are still relevant and important well into the 21st century, although with some surprising twists.  Single crystals of tetranuclear Co(II) and Co(III) complexes chemisorb nitric oxide (NO) which, after exposure to O2 physisorbed from air, is transformed to nitrite, nitrate and an aryl nitro group in remarkable single crystal to single crystal reactions.  The medical and biological significance of NO and the solventless redox chemistry all occurring in the crystalline phase suggest exciting possibilities for its highly selective capture and conversion.

 

 

Imidazolium-benzimidazolates as convenient sources of donor-functionalised normal and abnormal N-heterocyclic carbenes” by et al., as chosen by Manfred Scheer:

Mesomeric betaines are related to N-heterocyclic carbenes because of their interconversion by tautomerisation and therefore can act as “instant carbenes”. The authors established now imidazolium-benzimidazolates as a new and highly versatile “instant carbene” system. Depending on the steric demand of the imidazole N-substituent, normal but also abnormal NHC carbene coordination is observed. Thus, unstable but nevertheless highly interesting species are available starting from stable betainic precursors. Therefore, this paper contributes substantially to the chemistry of normal and abnormal N-heterocyclic carbenes.

 

 

 

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Chemical Communications: Editor’s Choice

Be sure to read our Editor’s Choice articles as chosen by Associate Editors Prof. Jonathan Steed & Prof. Jonathan Sessler!

All articles are free-to-access until 31st August and can be found in our online Editor’s Choice web-collection!

Planar rings in nano-Saturns and related complexes” by Steven M. Bachrach, as chosen by Jonathan Steed:

“This paper lays down the gauntlet to synthetic chemists! The image of a nano-Saturn is immediately eye-catching and scales up molecular host guest chemistry to the multi-nanometre scale. This creative theoretical paper establishes that ortho-nitrogen substitution in aryl macrocycles creates large planar or ribbon structures and then goes on to show that these discs or rings can combine with other nanostructures to construct complexes with interesting shapes. Given the huge interest generated by the mechanically interlocked structures underlying the 2016 Nobel prize in chemistry, these large-scale included systems are real food for thought and I am excited to see if they can be realised experimentally.”

Enhancing selectivity of cation exchange with anion receptors” by 

“These researchers have shown that by using a classic anion binding agent, namely a calix[4]pyrrole, it is possible to modulate the inherent selectivity of liquid-liquid cation extractants. Most current extraction-based separations rely on the use of lipophilic anions as the extractants. These anions, typically the conjugate bases of carboxylic acids, beta-diketones, phosphoric/phosphonic/phosphinic acids, phenols, hydroxyoximes, and sulfonic acids, complex to the cation in question with a selectivity set largely by the local anion-cation coordination environment. However, in this communication the ORNL team has shown that when a calix[4]pyrrole is added to a phenolate-type cation extractant the inherent selectivity is pushed in favor of Cs+ over Na+. This bias in favor of Cs+, which stands in contrast to what would normally be expected, is rationalized in terms of the formation of a highly specific tertiary supramolecular complex involving the calix[4]pyrrole, the anionic phenolate, and the Cs+ cation. Such an organized ternary complex is disfavored in the case of Na+. This work is particularly appealing to me as an Associate Editor for its combination of novelty, insightfulness, and scholarly rigor. It is also attractive to me personally because it demonstrates a new utility for one of my favorite old-but-new molecules, namely calix[4]pyrrole.”

Bonus article: “p-Phosphonic acid calix[8]arene mediated synthesis of ultra-large, ultra-thin, single-crystal gold nanoplatelets” by  et al., as chosen by Jonathan Steed:

“This work reports a very simple system that gives glorious gold nanoplatelets with significant surface area but a thickness of around 6nm. Creating 2D nanocrystals is very challenging and involves highly kinetic conditions. In this case the simple reduction of soluble gold(III) in the presence of a phosphonated acid calix[8]arene macrocycle gives rise to these very well-defined and very unusual morphologies. In this case the role of the calixarene seems to be to attach to the Au(111) surfaces, impeding their growth in one direction and allowing growth in the other to form single-crystal platelets. We are still just scratching the surface of what unusual nanoscale morphologies can do to alter the properties of a material but the present gold nanowafers already show promise as oxygen sensors.”

Find our full Editor’s Choice collection online!

Keep up-to-date with our latest journal news on Twitter @ChemCommun!

Learn more about ChemComm online! Submit your latest high impact research here!

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