Bert Mallick

Mercuric Ionic Liquids: [Cnmim][HgX3], Where n = 3, 4 and X = Cl, Br

A series of mercury(II) ionic liquids, [C(n)mim][HgX(3)], where [C(n)mim] = n-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium with n = 3, 4 and X = Cl, Br, have been synthesized following two different synthetic approaches, and structurally characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray structure analysis ([C(3)mim][HgCl(3)] (1), Cc (No. 9), Z = 4, a = 16.831(4) Å, b = 10.7496(15) Å, c = 7.4661(14) Å, β = 105.97(2)°, V = 1298.7(4) Å(3) at 298 K; [C(4)mim][HgCl(3)] (2), Cc (No. 9), Z = 4, a = 17.3178(28) Å, b = 10.7410(15) Å, c = 7.4706(14) Å, β = 105.590(13)°, V = 1338.5(4) Å(3) at 170 K; [C(3)mim][HgBr(3)] (3), P2(1)/c (No. 14), Z = 4, a = 10.2041(10) Å, b = 10.7332(13) Å, c = 14.5796(16) Å, β = 122.47(2)°, V = 1347.2(3) Å(3) at 170 K; [C(4)mim][HgBr(3)] (4), Cc (No. 9), Z = 4, a = 17.093(3) Å, b = 11.0498(14) Å, c = 7.8656(12) Å, β = 106.953(13)°, V = 1421.1(4) Å(3) at 170 K). Compounds 1, 2, and 4 are isostructural and are characterized by strongly elongated trigonal [HgX(5)] bipyramids, which are connected via common edges in chains. In contrast, 3 contains [Hg(2)Br(6)] units formed by two edge-sharing tetrahedra. With melting points of 69.3 °C (1), 93.9 °C (2), 39.5 °C (3), and 58.3 °C (4), all compounds qualify as ionic liquids. 1, 2, and 4 solidify upon fast cooling as glasses, whereas 3 crystallizes. Cyclic voltammetry shows two separate, quasi-reversible redox processes, which can be associated with the 2Hg(2+)/Hg(2)(2+) and Hg(2)(2+)/2Hg redox couples.

New triazolium based ionic liquid crystals

A set of novel 1,2,3-triazolium based ionic liquid crystals was synthesized and their mesomorphic behaviour studied by DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), POM (polarizing optical microscopy) and SAXS (small angle X-ray scattering). Beside the variation of the chain length (C10, C12 and C14) at the 1,2,3-triazolium cation also the anion has been varied (Br−, I−, I3−, BF4−, SbF6−, N(CN)2−, Tf2N−) to study the influence of ion size, symmetry and H-bonding capability on the mesophase formation. Interestingly, for the 1,3-didodecyl-1,2,3-triazolium cation two totally different conformations were found in the crystal structure of the bromide (U-shaped) and the triiodide (rod shaped).

Carbon-Halogen Bond Activation by Selenium-Based Chalcogen Bonding

Abstract Chalcogen bonding is a little explored noncovalent interaction similar to halogen bonding. This manuscript describes the first application of selenium‐based chalcogen bond donors as Lewis acids in organic synthesis. To this end, the solvolysis of benzhydryl bromide served as a halide abstraction benchmark reaction. Chalcogen bond donors based on a bis(benzimidazolium) core provided rate accelerations relative to the background reactivity by a factor of 20–30. Several comparative experiments provide clear indications that the observed activation is due to chalcogen bonding. The performance of the chalcogen bond donors is superior to that of a related brominated halogen bond donor.

(1‐Butyl‐4‐methyl‐pyridinium)[Cu(SCN)2]: A Coordination Polymer and Ionic Liquid

The compound (C4C1py)[Cu(SCN)2], (C4C1py = 1-Butyl-4-methyl-pyridinium), which can be obtained from CuSCN and the ionic liquid (C4C1py)(SCN), turns out to be a new organic-inorganic hybrid material as it qualifies both, as a coordination polymer and an ionic liquid. It features linked [Cu(SCN)2](-) units, in which the thiocyanates bridge the copper ions in a μ1,3-fashion. The resulting one-dimensional chains run along the a axis, separated by the C4C1py counterions. Powder X-ray diffraction not only confirms the single-crystal X-ray structure solution but proves the reformation of the coordination polymer from an isotropic melt. However, the materials shows a complex thermal behavior often encountered for ionic liquids such as a strong tendency to form a supercooled melt. At a relatively high cooling rate, glass formation is observed. When heating this melt in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature-dependent polarizing optical microscopy (POM), investigations reveal the existence of a less thermodynamically stable crystalline polymorph. Raman measurements conducted at 10 and 100 °C point towards the formation of polyanionic chain fragments in the melt. Solid-state UV/Vis spectroscopy shows a broad absorption band around 18,870 cm(-1) (530 nm) and another strong one below 20,000 cm(-1) (<500 nm). The latter is attributed to the d(Cu(I))→π*(SCN)-MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) transition within the coordination polymer yielding an energy gap of 2.4 eV. At room temperature and upon irradiation with UV light, the material shows a weak fluorescence band at 15,870 cm(-1) (630 nm) with a quantum efficiency of 0.90(2) % and a lifetime of 131(2) ns. Upon lowering the temperature, the luminescence intensity strongly increases. Simultaneously, the band around 450 nm in the excitation spectrum decreases.

A Roadmap to Uranium Ionic Liquids: Anti‐Crystal Engineering

In the search for uranium-based ionic liquids, tris(N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato)uranylates have been synthesized as salts of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (C4mim) cation. As dithiocarbamate ligands binding to the UO2(2+) unit, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, and heptamethylenedithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate, N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamate, and N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate have been explored. X-ray single-crystal diffraction allowed unambiguous structural characterization of all compounds except N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamate, which is obtained as a glassy material only. In addition, powder X-ray diffraction as well as vibrational and UV/Vis spectroscopy, supported by computational methods, were used to characterize the products. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to investigate the phase-transition behavior depending on the N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand with the aim to establish structure-property relationships regarding the ionic liquid formation capability. Compounds with the least symmetric N,N-dialkyldithiocarbamato ligand and hence the least symmetric anions, tris(N-methyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, tris(N-ethyl-N-propyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, and tris(N-methyl-N-butyldithiocarbamato)uranylate, lead to the formation of (room-temperature) ionic liquids, which confirms that low-symmetry ions are indeed suitable to suppress crystallization. These materials combine low melting points, stable complex formation, and hydrophobicity and are therefore excellent candidates for nuclear fuel purification and recovery.

Solution-Based Synthesis of GeTe Octahedra at Low Temperature

GeTe octahedra were prepared by reaction of equimolar amounts of GeCl2·dioxane and Te(SiEt3)2 in oleylamine, whereas a slight excess of the Te precursor yielded GeTe octahedra decorated with elemental Te nanowires, which can be removed by washing with TOP. The mechanism of the GeTe formation is strongly influenced by the solvent. The expected elimination of Et3SiCl (dehalosilylation) only occurred in aprotic solvents, whereas Te(SiEt3)2 was found to react with primary and secondary amines with formation of silylamines. Temperature-dependent studies on the reaction in oleylamine showed that crystalline GeTe particles are formed at temperatures higher than 140 °C. XRD, SAED, and HRTEM studies proved the formation of rhombohedral GeTe nanoparticles. These findings were confirmed by a single-crystal and powder X-ray analysis. The rhombohedral structure modification was found, and the structure was solved in the acentric space group R3m.

(CrCl3)3@2[C4mim][OMe]-molecular cluster-type chromium(III) chloride stabilized in a salt matrix.

In [C4mim]2[CrCl3]3[OMe]2 molecular (CrCl3)3 units are embedded in a salt matrix of [C4mim][OMe]. This structural subunit can be viewed as a trapped molecular polymorph of CrCl3. Experimental and theoretical investigations indicate that, in contrast to bulk CrCl3, metal-metal bonds are formed at low temperatures.

Long term stable deep red light-emitting electrochemical cells based on an emissive, rigid cationic Ir(III) complex

The new cationic iridium complex [Ir(bzq)2(biq)][PF6] (bzq = benzo[h]quinolinato and biq = 2,2′-biquinoline) has been synthesized for application as an emitter in light emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). The molecular structure and crystal packing of this complex were established by single X-ray diffraction (SXRD). The electrochemical and photophysical properties of the complex were examined to determine the frontier orbital energies as well as the optical transitions that led to photoemission. The complex was found to emit at 644 nm and 662 nm for powder and thin films, respectively. A high powder photoluminescence quantum yield of 25% was determined, which is attributed to a reduction in vibrational modes of the complex due to the use of the rigid cyclometalated (C^N) bzq ligand. A LEC with [Ir(bzq)2(biq)][PF6] as the emitter was fabricated which showed a deep red emission (662 nm) with a luminance of 33.65 cd m−2, yielding a current efficiency of 0.33 cd A−1 and a power efficiency of 0.2 lm W−1. Most importantly, the LEC based on [Ir(bzq)2(biq)][PF6] demonstrated a lifetime of 280 hours which is among the longest device lifetimes reported for any deep red light emitting LEC.

Phosphonium Chloromercurate Room Temperature Ionic Liquids of Variable Composition

The system trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium ([P66614]Cl)/mercury chloride (HgCl2) has been investigated by varying the stoichiometric ratios from 4:1 to 1:2 (25, 50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 mol % HgCl2). All investigated compositions turn out to give rise to ionic liquids (ILs) at room temperature. The prepared ionic liquids offer the possibility to study the structurally and compositionally versatile chloromercurates in a liquid state at low temperatures in the absence of solvents. [P66614]2[HgCl4] is a simple IL with one discrete type of anion, while [P66614]{HgCl3} (with {} indicating a polynuclear arrangement) is an ionic liquid with a variety of polyanionic species, with [Hg2Cl6](2-) apparently being the predominant building block. [P66614]2[Hg3Cl8] and [P66614][Hg2Cl5] appear to be ILs at ambient conditions but lose HgCl2 when heated in a vacuum. For the liquids with the compositions 4:1 and 4:3, more than two discrete ions can be evidenced, namely, [P66614](+), [HgCl4](2-), and Cl(-) and [P66614](+), [HgCl4](2-), and the polynuclear {HgCl3}(-), respectively. The different stoichiometric compositions were characterized by (199)Hg NMR, Raman- and UV-vis spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry, among other techniques, and their densities and viscosities were determined. The [P66614]Cl/HgCl2 system shows similarities to the well-known chloroaluminate ILs (e.g., decrease in viscosity with increasing metal content after addition of more than 0.5 mol of HgCl2/mol [P66614]Cl, increasing density with increasing metal content, and the likely formation of polynuclear/polymeric/polyanionic species) but offer the advantage that they are air and water stable.

Solution and solid state conformational preferences of a family of cyclic disulphide bridged tetrapeptides

A set of cyclic tetrapeptides of the general form cyclo (Boc‐Cys‐Pro‐X‐Cys‐OMe) with X being L‐/D‐Ala, L‐/D‐Val, and L‐/D‐Trp was synthesized. These peptides serve as model systems for structure elucidation in solution and feature a variety of structural motifs — namely a β‐turn with intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions, cis/trans isomerism, and a disulphide bond. In this work, we performed a comprehensive structural analysis focussing on their β‐turn conformational preferences using NMR, VCD, and Raman spectroscopy. Our results provide evidence for a strong influence of a single stereocenter on the structures of the peptides whereas solvent polarity does not significantly affect them. Additionally, the solid state conformational preferences were studied by crystal structure analysis. Overall, a general trend for the conformational preferences of this set of peptides can be concluded from the results of the complementary investigations.