School of Chemistry - Research Publications
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ItemMultifunctional Coordination Polymer Exhibiting Reversible Mechanical Motion Allowing Selective Uptake of Guests and Leading to Enhanced Electrical Conductivity(AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2021-09-06)A remarkably flexible, multifunctional, 2D coordination polymer exhibiting an unprecedented mode of reversible mechanical motion, enabling pores to open and close, is reported. Such multifunctional materials are highly sought after, owing to the potential to exploit coexisting electronic and mechanical functionalities that underpin useful technological applications such as actuators and ultrasensitive detectors. The coordination polymer, of composition Mn(F4TCNQ)(py)2 (F4TCNQ = 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracycanoquinodimethane; py = pyridine), consists of Mn(II) centers bridged by F4TCNQ dianions and coordinated by py molecules that extend above and below the 2D network. Exposure of Mn(F4TCNQ)(py)2, in its collapsed state, to carbon dioxide results in a pore-opening process at a threshold pressure for a given temperature. In addition to carbon dioxide, a variety of volatile guests may be incorporated into the pores, which are lined with electron-rich F4TCNQ dianions. The inclusion of electron-deficient guests such as 1,4-benzoquinone, nitrobenzene, maleic anhydride, and iodine into the pores is accompanied by a striking color change associated with a new host-guest charge-transfer interaction and an improvement in the semiconductor behavior, with the iodine adduct showing an increase in conductivity of almost 5 orders of magnitude. Experimental and density functional theory calculations on this remarkable multifunctional material demonstrate a reduction in the optical band gap with increasing electron affinity of the guest.
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ItemA new fluorone-based bridging ligand for discrete and polymeric assemblies including Mo and W based [4+4] metallocycles(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020-07-21)Redox-active ligands are of interest for their ability to link metal centres and generate electroactive materials. We report the synthesis of 9-hydrogen-2,3,7-trihydroxyfluorone, which is able to serve as a bridging ligand and has the potential to exist in multiple oxidation states. Anionic [4+4] metallocycles in which Mo or W centres are linked by the trianion of this ligand are also described.
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ItemThe elusive crystals of calcium acetate hemihydrate: chiral rods linked by parallel hydrophilic strips(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021-01-21)Calcium acetate hemihydrate is found in the efflorescent salts that form on pottery and other calcareous heritage artefacts. The formation of these salts can lead to deterioration of these objects. A recent analysis of the structure of Ca(OAc)2·½H2O by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) has revealed it has a remarkable and surprisingly complex structure. Although the compound usually exists in powder or microcrystalline form, often in mixtures with other salts, we have serendipitously managed to grow crystals of a size suitable for single crystal X-ray diffraction. Our single crystal data show the structure is based on infinite supramolecular polymeric rods that are chiral. Each rod has a minimum diameter of 1.75 nm and the external surface of each rod features four parallel, hydrophobic domains separated by hydrophilic strips. Each hydrophilic strip consists of acetate oxygen atoms and coordinated water molecules that are able to form hydrogen bonding interactions with symmetry-related strips on a neighbouring rod in an arrangement that resembles a zipper. Within the extended crystal structure each rod is bound to four rods of opposite handedness to give a racemic mixture.
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ItemSemi-conducting mixed-valent X(4)TCNQ(I-/II-)(X = H, F) charge-transfer complexes with C6H2(NH2)(4)(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020-07-21)We report further characterisation on the previously described [C6H2(NH2)4][TCNQ] charge-transfer (CT) complex. An in-depth analysis of the crystallographic data aided by spectroscopic methods indicates the compound is mixed-valent with TCNQI−/II− species. The analogous F4TCNQ CT complex has been synthesised and spectroscopic methods suggest that [C6H2(NH2)4][F4TCNQ] is also mixed-valent. Electrical conductivity measurements on both complexes indicate semi-conductor behaviour, with [C6H2(NH2)4][TCNQ] exhibiting a σ300K = 9.8 × 10−4 S cm−1 and an Ea = 0.10(1) eV. Density functional theory studies on both CT complexes reveal band structures suggestive of ambipolar transport, with a super-exchange mechanism.
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ItemAlkali metal salts of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid: a structural and educational study.(International Union of Crystallography, 2021-07-01)As part of an educational exercise designed to introduce school students to the technique of single-crystal X-ray diffraction and enhance their understanding of primary and secondary bonding, a group of nine secondary school students was given the opportunity to prepare new compounds and to solve and refine data collected on the crystalline materials they had prepared. Their investigation of the alkali metal salts of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (H2hba) yielded nine new compounds and their structures are described in this article. Whilst the salts might be expected to have similar atomic arrangements, there are significant differences in their structures. Although H2hba is a relatively simple organic molecule, it displays remarkable coordinative flexibility, forming ionic solids containing the uncharged molecule, the monoanion Hhba- or the dianion hba2-. A common feature of the structures is their layered arrangement: alternating hydrophilic layers made up of closely packed metal-oxygen polyhedra separated by the hydrophobic component of the hydroxybenzoate linking units. Close packing of these units seems to be a dominant influence in determining the overall structure. The hydroxybenzoate units are usually both parallel and antiparallel with their immediate neighbours, with packing that can be edge-to-face, face-to-face or a mixture of the two. Hydrogen bonding plays a key role in the structure of most compounds and a short strong hydrogen bond (SSHB) is observed in two of the networks. The compounds of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, C7H6O3, described here are: poly[di-μ-aqua-μ-4-oxidobenzoato-dilithium], [Li2(C7H4O3)(H2O)2]n, 1, poly[triaqua-μ-4-oxidobenzoato-dilithium], [Li2(C7H4O3)(H2O)3]n, 2, poly[μ-4-hydroxybenzoato-lithium], [Li(C7H5O3)]n, 3, catena-poly[4-hydroxybenzoate [[diaquasodium]-di-μ-aqua]], {[Na(H2O)4](C7H5O3)}n, 4, poly[di-μ-aqua-aqua-μ-4-hydroxybenzoato-potassium], [K(C7H5O3)(H2O)3]n, 5, poly[μ-aqua-μ-4-hydroxybenzoato-potassium], [K(C7H5O3)(H2O)]n, 6, poly[aqua-μ-4-hydroxybenzoato-rubidium], [Rb(C7H5O3)(H2O)]n, 7, poly[aqua-μ-4-hydroxybenzoato-caesium], [Cs(C7H5O3)(H2O)]n, 8, poly[[μ-aqua-aqua(μ-4-hydroxybenzoato)(4-hydroxybenzoic acid)sodium] monohydrate], {[Na(C7H5O3)(C7H6O3)(H2O)2]·H2O}n, 9, poly[[(μ-4-hydroxybenzoato)(μ-4-hydroxybenzoic acid)rubidium] monohydrate], {[K(C7H5O3)(C7H6O3)]·H2O}n, 10, and poly[[(μ-4-hydroxybenzoato)(μ-4-hydroxybenzoic acid)rubidium] monohydrate], {[Rb(C7H5O3)(C7H6O3)]·H2O}n, 11.
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ItemComplementarity in Cyclotricatechylene Assemblies: Symmetric Cages Linked within 3D Cubic Hydrogen Bonded Networks(MDPI, 2020-06-01)A serendipitous discovery has led to the generation of a family of four compounds in which six components combine to form symmetric metal-cyclotricatechylene (H6ctc) cages. The four compounds, which have the compositions, [Cs((CH3)2CO)6][K4(H6ctc)4(H2O)8][Cs4(H2O)6](PO4)3, [Rb((CH3)2CO)6][Rb2K2(H6ctc)4(H2O)6][Rb4(H2O)6](PO4)3, [Cs((CH3)2CO)6][K4(H6ctc)4(H2O)8]-[Cs(H2O)9](SO4)3 and [Rb((CH3)2CO)6][Rb2K2(H6ctc)4(H2O)6][Rb(H2O)9](SO4)3 possess cubic symmetry that arises from the complementary interactions that govern the assembly of the components. The cage cavities contain water molecules and either one or four large alkali metal ions (either Rb+ or Cs+) which interact with the internal aromatic surfaces of the cage. Each cage is linked to six tetrahedral anions (PO43− or SO42−) through 24 equivalent hydrogen bonds and each anion bridges a pair of cages through eight such hydrogen bonds. An unusual octahedral complex M((CH3)2CO)6+ (M = Rb or Cs), in which the M-C=O link is linear, appears to be a key structural component. A feature of this family of crystalline compounds is the presence of a range of complementary interactions which combine to generate materials that exhibit high crystallographic symmetry.
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ItemA Semiconducting Cationic Square-Grid Network with FeIII Centers Displaying Unusual Dynamic Behavior(WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2020-04-16)The synthesis, structure and properties of a 2D FeIII network material of composition [Fe(O‐bipy)2Cl](TCNQ)2 (O‐bipy = 4,4'‐bipyridyl N,N'‐dioxide; TCNQ = 7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane) are presented. The structure consists of a square grid in which square pyramidal FeIII centers are linked to four equivalent centers through O‐bipy ligands. Pairs of TCNQ radical anions are located within rectangular cavities of the 2D network. The apical position on each Fe center is occupied by a chloride ion. Magnetic studies are indicative of weak antiferromagnetic coupling. Electrical conductivity measurements reveal that the compound is a semiconductor and on the basis of DFT calculations it is proposed that electrical conduction occurs via charge hopping between interlayer TCNQ anions. Mössbauer spectra indicate a rare example of the Goldanskii–Karyagin effect and are suggestive of unusual dynamic processes.