Chemical Communications Blog

All of the referee-recommended articles below are free to access until 17th September 2014

Nanoscale insight into C–C coupling on cobalt nanoparticles
E. A. Lewis, C. J. Murphy, A. Pronschinske, M. L. Liriano and E. C. H. Sykes  
Chem. Commun., 2014,50, 10035-10037
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03678F, Communication
From themed collection Scanning Probe Studies of Molecular Systems

A bifunctional curcumin analogue for two-photon imaging and inhibiting crosslinking of amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease
Xueli Zhang, Yanli Tian, Peng Yuan, Yuyan Li, Mohammad A. Yaseen, Jaime Grutzendler, Anna Moore and Chongzhao Ran  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03731F, Communication

Rapid engineering of versatile molecular logic gates using heterologous genetic transcriptional modules
Baojun Wang and Martin Buck  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05264A, Communication

Geometric and redox flexibility of pyridine as a redox-active ligand that can reversibly accept one or two electrons
Richard A. Lewis, K. Cory MacLeod, Brandon Q. Mercado and Patrick L. Holland  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05495D, Communication
From themed collection Non-Innocent Ligands

Targeted theranostic prodrugs based on an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen for real-time dual-drug tracking
Youyong Yuan, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Ruoyu Zhang, Ben Zhong Tang and Bin Liu  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05255B, Communication

Anion–π interactions and positive electrostatic potentials of N-heterocycles arise from the positions of the nuclei, not changes in the π-electron distribution
Steven E. Wheeler and Jacob W. G. Bloom  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05304D, Communication 

In this communication, Edwin Otten and Mu-Chieh Chang from the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry at the University of Groningen describe their work with formazanate ligands. They detail here an easier route to boron difluoride chelates with this type of ligand via an exchange transmetallation from a zinc complex with the same ligand in the presence of boron difluoride etherate (BF3.Et2O).

Formazan, or formazanate in its deprotonated form, is an example of a ‘non-innocent ligand’. Just like transition metals, it has an accessible redox chemistry all of its own, and can effectively store electrons by existing in several oxidation states stabilised by its structure. Chemically, formazanates, with a NNCNN backbone are nitrogen rich analogs of diketiminates, which can be represented by NCCCN. In this case, aryl substitution on the terminal nitrogen and central carbon atoms aid the electron stabilisation.

Crystal structure and cyclic voltammagram of formazanate boron difluoride complex

The mono formazanate boron difluoride complex was readily accessible by mixing a bis formazanate zinc complex with BF3 etherate in hot toluene. Zinc fluoride precipitated from solution and the air stable, crystalline material boron chelate was isolated in high yield. X-ray crystal structure determination was possible, showing a tetrahedral environment around the boron atom, and equal bond lengths in the NNCNN core of the ligand, proving its delocalised nature. An important intermediate of the process was also isolated and identified by this technique aiding mechanism elucidation.

Using cobaltocene as reducing agent, a reduced from of the complex was also isolated and characterised, and use of cyclic voltammetry quantified the redox potentials for formation of the further reduced forms of the material. All three redox states were observed. Applications of these materials in catalysis and further investigation in coordination chemistry are ongoing. The potential for application of such ligands in the area of sensors and devices, or even therapeutics poses many possibilities.

Read this RSC Chemical Communication today – access is free* for a limited time only!

Synthesis and ligand-based reduction chemistry of boron-difluoride complexes with redox-active formazanate ligands
M.-C. Chang and E. Otten
DOI: 10.1039/c4cc03244f

*Access is free until 29th August 2014 through a registered RSC account – click here to register

All of the referee-recommended articles below are free to access until 20th August 2014

Magnetic, superhydrophobic and durable silicone sponges and their applications in removal of organic pollutants from water
Lingxiao Li, Bucheng Li, Lei Wu, Xia Zhao and Junping Zhang  
Chem. Commun., 2014,50, 7831-7833
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03045A, Communication

Electrochemiluminescent swimmers for dynamic enzymatic sensing
Milica Sentic, Stephane Arbault, Bertrand Goudeau, Dragan Manojlovic, Alexander Kuhn, Laurent Bouffier and Neso Sojic  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC04105D, Communication

Nucleobase-functionalized ABC triblock copolymers: self-assembly of supramolecular architectures
Keren Zhang, Gregory B. Fahs, Motohiro Aiba, Robert B. Moore and Timothy E. Long  
Chem. Commun., 2014,50, 9145-9148
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03363A, Communication
From themed collection Polymer Self-Assembly

Thermo-regulated phase separable catalysis (TPSC)-based atom transfer radical polymerization in a thermo-regulated ionic liquid
Xiangyang Du, Jinlong Pan, Mengting Chen, Lifen Zhang, Zhenping Cheng and Xiulin Zhu  
Chem. Commun., 2014,50, 9266-9269
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03918A, Communication

The photo-thermal plasmonic effect in spin crossover@silica–gold nanocomposites
Iurii Suleimanov, José Sánchez Costa, Gábor Molnár, Lionel Salmon and Azzedine Bousseksou  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC02652G, Communication

An “Off-axis” Mn–Mn bond in Mn2(CO)10 at high pressure
Piero Macchi, Nicola Casati, Shaun R. Evans, Fabia Gozzo, Petra Simoncic and Davide Tiana  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC04152F, Communication

Brass has been known to man since prehistoric times; now scientists in Germany have isolated the first molecular example of the copper–zinc alloy.

Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 13th August:
Molecular brass: Cu4Zn4, a ligand protected superatom cluster
Kerstin Freitag, Hung Banh, Christian Gemel, Rüdiger W. Seidel, Samia Kahlal, Jean-Yves Saillard and Roland A. Fischer  
Chem. Commun., 2014, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03401E, Communication