Dalton Transactions Blog

Pt(IV) complexes are accepted as a class of potential anticancer compounds with better oral activity than their Pt(II) analogues.  Adoración G. Quiroga and colleagues have synthesised two novel Pt(IV) complexes based on Pt(II) analogues previously shown by them to have potential as anticancer compounds. The team from Spain, Australia and Germany describe in this paper the synthesis, characterization, and unusually high cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines of these novel Pt(IV) complexes.

The preparation and characterization of trans-platinum(IV) complexes with unusually high cytotoxicity
Leticia Cubo, Trevor W. Hambley, Pablo J. Sanz Miguel, Amancio Carnero, Carmen Navarro-Ranninger and Adoración G. Quiroga
Dalton Trans., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00565G, Paper

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In this paper Maravanji S. Balakrishna and colleagues from India and the USA report the first examples of cyclodiphosphazane-derived phosphine ligands and their transition metal chemistry. The chemistry of cyclodiphosphazanes has received considerable interest recently due to their utility as ligands towards both main group and transition elements, building blocks in macrocyclic chemistry, mechanistic probes for organic reactions, and catalytic and biological applications.  Find out more in this Dalton Transactions ‘Hot Article’.

Transition metal chemistry of cyclodiphosphanes containing phosphine and amide-phosphine functionalities: Formation of a stable dipalladium(II) complex containing a Pd–P σ-bond.
Maravanji S. Balakrishna, Ramalingam Venkateswaran and Joel T. Mague
Dalton Trans., 2010, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00614A, Paper

READ FOR FREE! Until the 11^th November.

Computational studies have made an important contribution to understanding the mechanisms of C-H bond activation by transition metal systems.  In this Hot Article David Davies and Stuart A. Macgregor from the University of Leicester and Amalia Poblador-Bahamonde from Heriot-Watt University have used density functional theory calculations to define the energetics of ethene hydroarylation with a [Ir(κ²-OAc)(PMe₃)Cp]⁺ catalyst and to assess possible competing side reactions.

Computational study of ethene hydroarylation at [Ir(κ^2-OAc)(PMe₃)Cp]⁺
David L. Davies, Stuart A. Macgregor and Amalia I. Poblador-Bahamonde
Dalton Trans., 2010, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00409J, Paper 

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Chinese scientists use clever self-assembly techniques and symmetry to make Cerium cubes and molecular tetrahedrons. Read more in their Dalton Transactions Hot communication:

A symmetry-controlled and face-driven approach for the assembly of cerium-based molecular polyhedra 
Yang Liu, Zhihua Lin, Cheng He, Liang Zhao and Chunying Duan
Dalton Trans., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0DT01086C

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Phosphine, arsine and thioether complexes with metal fluorides are especially rare. In this Hot Article, Bill Levason and colleagues report the first examples of soft-donor alkyl phosphine complexes of TiF4.

Taking TiF4 complexes to extremes – the first examples with phosphine co-ligands 
Marek Jura, William Levason, Edmund Petts, Gillian Reid, Michael Webster and Wenjian Zhang
Dalton Trans., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00747A

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In their Hot Article, Solà, Stahl, Ribas and co-workers shed mechanistic light on the pharmaceutically important Cu-catalyzed Ullmann–Goldberg-type crosscoupling chemistry. Until now, fundamental knowledge of the mechanism of these reactions was still lacking. Find out more in this Dalton Transactions paper.

Molecular mechanism of acid-triggered aryl–halide reductive elimination in well-defined aryl–CuIII–halide species 
Alicia Casitas, Albert Poater, Miquel Solà, Shannon S. Stahl, Miquel Costas and Xavi Ribas
Dalton Trans., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00284D 

In their exciting Dalton Transactions Hot Article, Wesley Browne, Ben Feringa and colleagues show that pyridine-2-carboxylic acid plays an unexpected role in manganese based oxidation catalysis. The group show that, though catalyst degradation is typically considered as a cause of catalyst deactivation, in this case in situ ligand degradation actually results in a highly active oxidation system.  

The unexpected role of pyridine-2-carboxylic acid in manganese based oxidation catalysis with pyridin-2-yl based ligands 
Dirk Pijper, Pattama Saisaha, Johannes W. de Boer, Rob Hoen, Christian Smit, Auke Meetsma, Ronald Hage, Ruben P. van Summeren, Paul L. Alsters, Ben L. Feringa and Wesley R. Browne
Dalton Trans., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0DT00452A , Paper

READ FOR FREE! Until the 2nd of November.