Dalton Transactions Blog

95th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition

06 Jun 2012

Jamie Humphrey reports from the 95th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Calgary, Canada

May 25th 2012, and Calgary welcomed chemists from Canada and further afield to the 95th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC2012). With the Canadian Rockies providing a stunning backdrop, and with blue skies and glorious sunshine, the city was the perfect venue for this gathering.

About 2000 chemists arrived in Calgary to share research, catch up with old acquaintances and make new friends. This was my third CSC meeting, and the conference is a highlight of my year. I therefore was not expecting the question I was asked at immigration; ‘Why would you travel all the way to Calgary from the UK to attend a conference?’ ‘He’s clearly not been to a CSC meeting’, I thought to myself as I collected my passport back and entered Canada, looking forward to my next few days at the conference.

Calgary Tower

The CSC meeting covers all branches of chemistry however, I attended mainly for the inorganic sessions. The meeting programme provided an excellent range of inorganic themes, including hydrogen activation, physical methods for coordination chemistry, main group chemistry, solar fuels, metals in biology, ligand design, inorganic molecular modelling, optical and electronic materials, solid state chemistry, and catalysis. Reflecting the impact that inorganic chemistry has on many different areas of chemical research, 9 of these symposia were arranged jointly with other Canadian Society for Chemistry divisions. Two chemists were honoured at CSC2012 by Symposia in their name: Barry Lever and Howard Alper.

Of course, the conference was not all hard work and there was some hard partying as well! Highlights included the Bruker event on Sunday night and, my favourite, the inorganic mixer on Tuesday night (which Dalton Transactions sponsored). I even found time during my stay in Calgary to have dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower!

Keeping up with the conference was helped by a number of people using Twitter to spread the excitement of the event (#CSC2012 if you want to take a look on Twitter), and Twitter was used to good effect. Anyone not able to attend could get the flavour of the meeting from the tweets, and those at the meeting could make sure they did not miss out on anything that had just been announced (free frisbees available in the Exhibition!). The organisers also posted photos from the conference on Flickr.

The Canadian Chemistry Conference is an excellent showcase for the best inorganic chemical research taking place in Canada and this year’s meeting provided an enjoyable and stimulating five days. Credit and thanks are due to the conference chair, Warren Piers (University of Calgary) and the other members of the organising committee for all their hard work and efforts in putting together an excellent programme of scientific and social events. I am looking forward to seeing what next year’s meeting in Quebec City brings!

Don’t miss these two inorganic conferences in Canada in July

6th International Symposium on Bioorganometallic Chemistry

Challenges in Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (ISACS8)

To get a flavour of CSC meeting, take a look at these recent articles from some of the delegates at the conference.

Cycloruthenated sensitizers: improving the dye-sensitized solar cell with classical inorganic chemistry principles
Kiyoshi C. D. Robson, Paolo G. Bomben and Curtis P. Berlinguette
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30825H

Synthesis and reactivity of 2-azametallacyclobutanes
Alexander Dauth and Jennifer A. Love
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30639E

Non-innocent ligand behaviour of a bimetallic Cu complex employing a bridging catecholate
Tim J. Dunn, Linus Chiang, Caterina F. Ramogida, Michael I. Webb, Didier Savard, Miyuki Sakaguchi, Takashi Ogura, Yuichi Shimazaki and Tim Storr
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30444A

Rigid NON- and NSN-ligand complexes of tetravalent and trivalent uranium: comparison of U–OAr2 and U–SAr2 bonding
Balamurugan Vidjayacoumar, Sougandi Ilango, Matthew J. Ray, Terry Chu, Kristopher B. Kolpin, Nicholas R. Andreychuk, Carlos A. Cruz, David J. H. Emslie, Hilary A. Jenkins and James F. Britten
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30247K

Heterobimetallic lanthanide–gold coordination polymers: structure and emissive properties of isomorphous [nBu4N]2[Ln(NO3)4Au(CN)2] 1-D chains
Ryan J. Roberts, Xiaobo Li, Tye F. Lacey, Zhong Pan, Howard H. Patterson and Daniel B. Leznoff
Dalton Trans., 2012,41, 6992-6997
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30156C

Ni(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes of PNP and PSP tridentate amino–phosphine ligands
Michael J. Sgro and Douglas W. Stephan
Dalton Trans., 2012,41, 6791-6802
DOI=10.1039/C2DT30373F

Were you at the CSC meeting? Share your stories of the conference with us in the comments below.

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Theoretical study on proton relay at active site of nitogenase

31 May 2012

By Jennifer Newton, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

This HOT paper by Ian Dance, from the University of New South Wales, reports on the mechanism of proton relay in nitrogenase enzymes. The proton relay from the protein surface to a key sulfur atom of the FeMo-cofactor plays a core role in many of nitrogenase’s chemical mechanisms.

The water chain in nitrogenase is comparable with the purported proton pumping pathway of cytochrome c oxidase.

To read more about the detailed analysis of this mechanism you can download the full paper below…

The controlled relay of multiple protons required at the active site of nitrogenase
Ian Dance
Dalton Trans., 2012
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30518F

Here are some of Ian Dance’s other recent Dalton Transactions publications:

Ramifications of C-centering rather than N-centering of the active site FeMo-co of the enzyme nitrogenase
Ian Dance
Dalton Trans., 2012,41, 4859-4865
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT00049K, Paper

Calculated vibrational frequencies for FeMo-co, the active site of nitrogenase, bearing hydrogen atoms and carbon monoxide
Ian Dance
Dalton Trans., 2011,40, 6480-6489
DOI: 10.1039/C1DT10505A, Paper

How does vanadium nitrogenase reduce CO to hydrocarbons?
Ian Dance
Dalton Trans., 2011,40, 5516-5527
DOI: 10.1039/C1DT10240K, Paper

Mimicking nitrogenase
Ian Dance
Dalton Trans., 2010,39, 2972-2983
DOI: 10.1039/B922606K, Perspective
From themed issue Bioinspired catalysis

Are you following us on Twitter? @DaltonTrans

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Announcing new Dalton Transactions Associate Editor

30 May 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

We are delighted to announce Professor Masahiro Yamashita has joined the Dalton Transactions Editorial Board as Associate Editor.

Professor Yamashita is based at Tohoku University, Japan, where his research is focused on single molecule and single chain magnets; non-linear optics in nanowire coordination compounds; and organic-inorganic hybrid superconductors.

Professor Yamashita was guest editor for last year’s New Talent: Asia themed issue and is also guest editing an upcoming Dalton Transactions themed issue in molecular magnets so watch this space…

Masahiro Yamashita

See some of Masahiro Yamashita’s recently published articles below:

A three-dimensional network of two-electron-transferred [Ru2]2TCNQ exhibiting anomalous conductance due to charge fluctuations
Hitoshi Miyasaka, Takaumi Morita and Masahiro Yamashita
Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 271-273

Tuning of the ionization potential of paddlewheel diruthenium(II, II) complexes with fluorine atoms on the benzoate ligands
Hitoshi Miyasaka, Natsuko Motokawa, Ryo Atsuumi, Hiromichi Kamo, Yuichiro Asai and Masahiro Yamashita
Dalton Trans., 2011, 40, 673-682

Surface morphologies, electronic structures, and Kondo effect of lanthanide(III)-phthalocyanine molecules on Au(111) by using STM, STS and FET properties for next generation devices
Keiichi Katoh, Tadahiro Komeda and Masahiro Yamashita
Dalton Trans., 2010, 39, 4708-4723

Professor Yamashita is one of three new additions to the Dalton Transactions Editorial Board this year – we’ve also welcomed our new Chair, Professor Philip Mountford (University of Oxford), and Professor Jennifer Love (University of British Columbia).

There are also a number of new faces on our Advisory Board too. See here for the complete list of our Board members.

We are delighted to have such an excellent Board and thank them for all their hard work in making Dalton Transactions a world-leading journal in its field.

Jennifer Love

Philip Mountford

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Hydrogenase Hydrogel

24 May 2012

By Leah Morris, Web Writer.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

The ability of hydrogenase enzymes to reversibly catalyse the reduction of protons to form molecular hydrogen (H₂) has attracted a great deal of research interest. Synthetic mimics of the hydrogenase active site could potentially replace expensive platinum catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells. Currently these mimics are significantly less efficient than the natural enzyme and they are oxygen sensitive. It is thought that by creating a stable peptide based enviroment around the mimic, the stability and efficiency could be improved.

Encapsulating a hydrogenase mimic into a hydrogel causes a restriction in isomerisation after photolysis

Researchers from the Hunt and Ulijn groups at the University of Strathclyde and the Pickett group from the University of East Anglia have successfully encapsulated a [FeFe]-hydrogenase active site mimic into a dipeptide based hydrogelator. Their research has shown that there is a stark difference in the behaviour of the active site mimic in the gel phase compared to the solution phase. Experiments show that the mimic is significantly more stable in the gel phase and is less senstive to water and UV light which could potentially help to improve catalytic activity.

To find out more, read the full Daltons Transactions article…

Encapsulating [FeFe]-hydrogenase model compounds in peptide hydrogels dramatically modifies stability and photochemistry
Pim Wilhelmus, Johannes Maria Frederix, Rafal Kania, Joseph A Wright , Dimitrios A Lamprou, Rein Ulijn, C J Pickett and Neil T Hunt.

This article is part of the upcoming Dalton Discussion themed issue on Inorganic Photophysics and Photochemistry – Fundamentals and Applications

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Helicate or catenate?

22 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks

The team expected the assembly to form a helicate rather than catenate structure

Predicting the structure of large self-assembled units can become very complicated very quickly. Yet it is important for the rational design of new structures to understand how they assemble so new arrangements can be designed, with functional and valuable properties.

This Hot Article from the Piguet group investigates whether a pyridyl-benzimidazole ligand forms a double stranded helicate or a catenated architecture. The thermodynamic approach used to investigate the structures throws up some interesting results.

Looking for the origin of the switch between coordination-captured helicates and catenates
Lilit Aboshyan-Sorgho, Martine Cantuel, Gérald Bernardinelli and Claude Piguet
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30414G

Love inorganic chemistry? Follow us @DaltonTrans

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Thorium nanochemistry

15 May 2012

By Helen Lunn, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks

Although it has been known for some time that highly charged cations such as Th(IV) are susceptible to hydrolysis and subsequent polymerization, very little has been know about the exact nature of such polymeric species until now. Rothe et al. shed new light on this using a combination of X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy, high energy X-ray scattering (HEXS) measurements, and quantum chemical calculations to yield the most favourable structure as two Th(IV) dimers linked by a central Th(IV) cation through hydroxide bridges. This should have important implications in geology and waste reprocessing amongst others.

The solution structure of the Th(IV)-hydroxo pentamer

Read more for FREE for 4 weeks at:
Thorium nanochemistry: the solution structure of the Th(IV)–hydroxo pentamer
Clemens Walther, Jörg Rothe, Bernd Schimmelpfennig and Markus Fuss
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30243H

Also of interest may be:
Infrared spectra and structures of the Th(OH)₂ and Th(OH)₄ molecules
Xuefeng Wang and Lester Andrews
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2005,7, 3834-3838
DOI: 10.1039/B509401A

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New hard/soft donor ligand and its effect on the structure and redox behaviour of uranium complexes

15 May 2012

By Jennifer Newton, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

David Emslie and colleagues from McMaster University describe the synthesis of a new rigid NSN-donor ligand as well as the preparation of uranium(IV) and uranium(III) complexes using this ligand and a previously prepared NON-donor ligand. A combination of cyclic voltammetry, DFT calculations and Atoms In Molecules calculations were used to compare U–SAR₂ and U–OAr₂ bonding and the results indicated increased covalency in U-SAR₂ bonds that is probably due to the short U-S distances and tight C-S-U angles in the complexes. This work will aid the advancement of approaches for lanthanide/actinide separation in nuclear fuel reprocessing as well as analytical actinide detection.

Rigid NON- and NSN-ligand complexes of tetravalent and trivalent uranium.

Download the full paper below which is being published as part of an upcoming Dalton Transactions special issue, New Talent: the Americas…

Rigid NON- and NSN-ligand complexes of tetravalent and trivalent uranium: comparison of U–OAr₂ and U–SAr₂ bonding
Balamurugan Vidjayacoumar, Sougandi Ilango, Matthew J. Ray, Terry Chu, Kristopher B. Kolpin, Nicholas R. Andreychuk, Carlos A. Cruz, David J. H. Emslie, Hilary A. Jenkins and James F. Britten
Dalton Trans., 2012
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30247K

You may also find this 2010 Dalton Transactions themed issue on New horizons in organo-f-block chemistry interesting.

Remember you can keep up to date with all the latest news in inorganic chemistry by following us on twitter and signing up to our e-alert service.

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Themed issue: Application of inorganic chemistry for non-cancer therapeutics

11 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Application of inorganic chemistry for non-cancer therapeutics

Issue 21 of Dalton Transactions is a special issue focusing on therapeutic agents being developed in inorganic chemistry. The collection of articles showcases the variety of techniques and strategies employed by inorganic chemists to target a range of diseases and illnesses.

The Perspective by Pascale Delangle and Elizabeth Mintz overviews the use of copper chelation therapy in the treatment of Wilson’s disease (C2DT12188C), while Christophe Biot et al. discuss the therapeutic potential of metal-based antimalarial agents (C2DT12247B). Targeting is a prevailing theme in the issue and the paper from Chris Orvig et al. is no exception (C2DT12050J), while the contribution from Edward Tiekink (C2DT12225A) investigates the potential of selenium and tellurium compounds.

You can read the editorial from the issue’s Guest Editor Professor Katherine J. Franz, who succinctly runs through the contributions from all the issue authors. You can also browse the issue here and read the truly remarkable progress that the application of inorganic chemistry is having for non-cancer therapeutics.

Previous themed issues which cover emerging topics in inorganic chemistry can be found listed under the themed issue tab on the journal homepage.

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When 3nm is huge

10 May 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

The packing structures of ionic crystals is an interesting field of study and this Hot Communication by Masaki Saito and Tomoji Ozeki is certainly no exception!

A Sr2+ salt of [MoVI72MoV60O372(CH3COO)30(H2O)72]42− exhibits a superposed kagome-lattice with huge channels whose diameters measure approximately 3.0 nm

Huge channels in a superposed kagome-lattice

The pair from the Ozeki Research Group have determined the crystal structures of a couple of interesting structures, one of which “exhibits a superposed kagome-lattice with huge channels whose diameters measure approximately 3.0 nm”.

To read more about these new compounds you can download the full paper below

Crystallization of a Keplerate-type polyoxometalate into a superposed kagome-lattice with huge channels
Masaki Saito and Tomoji Ozeki

You might also be interested in a few other papers on polyoxometalates, which along with this article will be published in our upcoming themed issue focusing on the topic.

Orientations of polyoxometalate anions on gold nanoparticles
Shelly Sharet, Ella Sandars, Yifeng Wang, Offer Zeiri, Alevtina Neyman, Louisa Meshi and Ira A. Weinstock

A co-crystal of polyoxometalates exhibiting single-molecule magnet behavior: the structural origin of a large magnetic anisotropy
Xikui Fang, Kendall McCallum, Harry D. Pratt III, Travis M. Anderson, Kevin Dennis and Marshall Luban

Want to keep up with inorganic chemistry? follow us @DaltonTrans

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Dalton Transactions Blog

95th Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition

Theoretical study on proton relay at active site of nitogenase

Announcing new Dalton Transactions Associate Editor

Hydrogenase Hydrogel

Top ten most accessed articles in April

Helicate or catenate?

Thorium nanochemistry

New hard/soft donor ligand and its effect on the structure and redox behaviour of uranium complexes

Themed issue: Application of inorganic chemistry for non-cancer therapeutics

When 3nm is huge

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