NJC Blog

The last outside cover of the year 2016 is proposed by Dr David Magri (University of Malta). In their study, Dr Magri and his co-workers design and synthesize two novel ‘Pourbaix sensors’ based on a naphthalimide fluorophore according to a ‘fluorophore–spacer1–receptor–spacer2–electron-donor’ design. Their results contribute to the emerging number of intelligent molecular and supramolecular devices responsive to oxidants and pH. The authors are currently exploring the use of naphthalimide-based ‘Pourbaix sensors’ for molecular biosensing and environmental diagnostic applications.

Water-soluble naphthalimide-based ‘Pourbaix sensors’: pH and redox-activated fluorescent AND logic gates based on photoinduced electron transfer
Alex D. Johnson, Kyle A. Paterson, Jake C. Spiteri, Sergey A. Denisov, Gediminas Jonusauskas, Arnaud Tron, Nathan D. McClenaghan and David C. Magri*.
New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 9917-9922. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ02023B.

You can access the entire table of contents of the December issue of NJC here.

The October outside cover is proposed by Prof. Timothy P. Hanusa (Vanderbilt University, USA). In this article, the authors report a series of heavy alkaline-earth iodide coordination compounds containing various neutral donor ligands: phosphine oxides, ureas and the nitrobenzene dimer. These donors were chosen for their range of basicity and steric demand, to determine how well they could compete with the iodide ligand. The observed reactivity patterns suggest that ureas deserve more widespread use in group 2 chemistry, as they have a basicity that exceeds that of phosphine oxides, are available with a variety of substituents, and are inexpensive.

Selective modification of the metal coordination environment in heavy alkaline-earth iodide complexes
Lacey S. Fitts, Eric J. Bierschenk, Timothy P. Hanusa,* Arnold L. Rheingold, Maren Pink and Victor G. Young, Jr. New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 8229-8238. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ01713D.

Do not hesitate to browse the entire table of contents of the October issue to discover the 9 Letters and 86 Articles. Click here!

This month, the outside cover is proposed by Dr Jinbao Guo (Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China). In their work, the authors develop a facile bilayered structural device composed of a silver nanoparticle array with a liquid crystal elastomer. The device is elastic and changes color by sensing deformations induced by changing temperature, attributed to alignment of the liquid crystal molecules induced by the nanoparticle array. This actuator design could be a promising candidate for smart environmental-responsive devices such as thermal-camouflage skin and color-changing actuators.

A color-changing plasmonic actuator based on silver nanoparticle array/liquid crystalline elastomer nanocomposites
Yang Shi, Chao Zhu, Juntao Li, Jie Wei and Jinbao Guo, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 7311-7319. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ00492J.

Miss Maruša Mazej designed the inside cover to illustrate a study by Dr Zoran Mazej and his colleague Dr Goreshnik (Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia). Based on a short communication published in 1976 presenting three compounds described as XeF₆·TiF₄, 4XeF₆·TiF₄ and XeF₆·2TiF₄, and on the synthesis of [XeF₅]₃[Ti₄F₁₉] (i.e. 3XeF₆·4TiF₄) published in 2009, the authors reveal in this study the crystal structures of these 3 compounds, which can be formulated as XeF₅TiF₅, [XeF₅]₅[Ti₁₀F₄₅] and [XeF₅][Ti₃F₁₃]. [XeF₅]₅[Ti₁₀F₄₅] contains the largest known discrete decameric [Ti₁₀F₄₅]⁵⁻ anion built from ten TiF₆ octahedra that share vertices and that are arranged in a double-star shape.

Largest perfluorometallate [Ti₁₀F₄₅]⁵⁻ oligomer and polymeric ([Ti₃F₁₃]⁻)_∞ and ([TiF₅]⁻)_∞ anions prepared as [XeF₅]⁺ salts
Zoran Mazej and Evgeny A. Goreshnika, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 7320-7325. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ00955G.

Discover the full contents of the September issue here.

Lukáš Smolko in the group of Prof. Juraj Černák (P. J Šafárik University in Košice, Slovakia) designed this month’s outside cover. In their article, the five authors report on a novel series of tetracoordinate Co(II) complexes— [Co(bcp)X2] (bcp = bathocuproine; X = Cl, Br, I)—which all possess moderate magnetic anisotropy. They show that although the structures of the complexes are very similar, slight differences in the crystal packing lead to significantly different magnetic behaviour.

Tetracoordinate Co(II) complexes containing bathocuproine and single molecule magnetism
Lukáš Smolko, Juraj Černák*, Michal Dušek, Ján Titišc and Roman Bočac.
New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 6593-6598. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ00372A.

The inside cover is proposed by Dr Luke Henderson (Deakin University, Australia) to illustrate a study in which the authors examine the toxicity of a new class of ionic liquids. These are equimolar solutions of lithium bistrifluoromethylsulfonimide in triglyme (G3TFSA) or tetraglyme (G4TFSA), with potential applications in a variety of areas such as energy storage in lithium batteries and as  alternatives to traditional organic solvents. The authors demonstrate the lack of toxicity of these two solvate ionic liquids by three different complementary methods and conclude that G3TFSA and G4TFSA can be used as a replacement for DMSO for experimental research both in vitro and in vivo.

A study on acute toxicity and solvent capacity of solvate ionic liquids in vivo using a zebrafish model (Danio rerio)
Prusothman Yoganantharajah, Daniel J. Eyckens, Jessie L. Pedrina, Luke C. Henderson* and Yann Gibert.
New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 6599-6603. DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ00291A.

To browse the entire table of contents of the August issue of NJC, click here.

This month, the humorous outside cover was designed by Dr Subhajyoti Chaudhuri, in the group of Dr Aaron Bloomfield (Yale University, USA). The authors report in their study the preparation and solvolysis of three bicyclooctyl carboxamides (1–3), compare their structures to those of other reported amides, and investigate the observed trends using computational methods. They also discuss a possible explanation for the cis-preference of N-alkyl-N-aryl amides.

Facile solvolysis of a surprisingly twisted tertiary amide
Aaron J. Bloomfield, Subhajyoti Chaudhuri, Brandon Q. Mercado, Victor S. Batista and Robert H. Crabtree, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 1974-1981. DOI: 10.1039/C5NJ02449H.

The inside cover is proposed by Dr Juan Zhang (Shanghai University, China) to illustrate an article in which the authors highlight the increased resistance of bacterial infections to antibiotic treatment. In this study, they developed a colorimetric method for the determination of the activity of β-lactamase (β-Lac) and the screening of its inhibitors based on cysteine-induced gold nanoparticle (AuNP) aggregation.

Colorimetric β-lactamase inhibitor assay with double catalyzed signal amplification
Chen Chen, Jun Lv, Wanyi Chen, Yang Xiang and Juan Zhang, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 1982-1987. DOI: 10.1039/C5NJ02356D.

You can read these and the other 123 articles in the March issue, covering a broad range of topics, online here or through the NJC website.