Biplab Biswas

Base‐Driven Assembly of Large Uranium Oxo/Hydroxo Clusters

Uranium building blocks: Two new uranium cluster topologies are obtained from the stoichiometric hydrolysis of low-valent uranium in non-aqueous media (see picture). The organic base TMEDA directs the self-assembly process towards the formation of a nanosized oxo-hydroxo U16 cluster. Copyright

Multielectron redox chemistry of lanthanide Schiff-base complexes

Multielectron redox chemistry, which is essential in metal catalysed chemical transformations, is not easily accessible in lanthanide complexes. Here we explored the reductive chemistry of lanthanide complexes with tetradentate Schiff bases acting as redox-active ligands with the objective of identifying new pathways to lanthanide multielectron redox transfer. The chemical reduction with alkali metals of heteroleptic [Nd(salophen)X] (salophen = N,N′-bis(salicylidene)phenylenediamine, X = I, OTf) and of a series of homoleptic K[Ln(Rsalophen)2] complexes of trivalent lanthanides has resulted respectively in the synthesis of the new dinuclear Nd(III) complex K2[Nd2(cyclo-salophen)(THF)2] and in the synthesis of a series of mononuclear lanthanide(III) complexes of general formula K3[Ln(bis-Rsalophen)] (R = H, Me, tBu). Ligand reduction and C–C bond formation are supported by X-ray crystal structures. Proton NMR studies demonstrate that the K2[Nd2(cyclo-salophen)(py)2] complex can transfer four electrons in the reaction with oxidizing agents such as AgOTf through the breaking of the two C–C bonds. Moreover the electrochemistry and reactivity of the mononuclear complexes K3[Ln(bis-Rsalophen)] show that they can act as formal two electron reductants and that their oxidation potential can be tuned by changing the substituents on the ligand. These results illustrate that Schiff bases provide a new way to introduce multielectron redox events at lanthanide centers and a new route to highly reactive mono- and polynuclear complexes of lanthanides.

A Star-Shaped Heteronuclear CrIIIMnII3 Species and Its Precise Electronic and Magnetic Structure: Spin Frustration Studied by X-Ray Spectroscopic, Magnetic, and Theoretical Methods

Molecular magnets incorporate transition-metal ions with organic groups providing a bridge to mediate magnetic exchange interactions between the ions. Among them are star-shaped molecules in which antiferromagnetic couplings between the central and peripheral atoms are predominantly present. Those configurations lead to an appreciable spin moment in the nonfrustrated ground state. In spite of its topologically simple magnetic structure, the [Cr(III)Mn(II)(3) (PyA)(6)Cl(3)] (CrMn(3)) molecule, in which PyA represents the monoanion of syn-pyridine-2-aldoxime, exhibits nontrivial magnetic properties, which emerge from the combined action of single-ion anisotropy and frustration. In the present work, we elucidate the underlying electronic and magnetic properties of the heteronuclear, spin-frustrated CrMn(3) molecule by applying X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), as well as magnetization measurements in high magnetic fields, density functional theory, and ligand-field multiplet calculations. Quantum-model calculations based on a Heisenberg Hamiltonian augmented with local anisotropic terms enable us not only to improve the accuracy of the exchange interactions but also to determine the dominant local anisotropies. A discussion of the various spin Hamiltonian parameters not only leads to a validation of our element selective transition metal L edge XMCD spin moments at a magnetic field of 5 T and a temperature of 5 K but also allows us to monitor an interesting effect of anisotropy and frustration of the manganese and chromium ions.

A one-pot synthesis of a paramagnetic high-nuclearity nickel(II) cluster: an octadecanuclear NiII16NaI2 metal aggregate

An unusual NiII16NaI2 cluster which features formate as a bridging clamp between two octanuclear nickel cages is reported; preliminary magnetic studies exhibit paramagnetic low-lying states resulting from dominating antiferromagnetic interactions between the nickel(II) centers.

Effect of the substituents on the spin coupling between iminosemiquinone π-radicals mediated by diamagnetic metal ions: l.s. Co(III)vsGa(III)

Exchange coupling between the radical iminosemiquinone ligands changes from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic in l.s. Co(III) complexes, whereas the same coupling in Ga(III) complexes is always antiferromagnetic.

A spin-frustrated star-shaped heterotetranuclear CrIIIMnII3 species and its magnetic and HF-EPR measurements

A tetranuclear complex [Cr(III)Mn(II)(3)(PyA)(6)Cl(3)] 1 containing pyridine-2-aldoximato monoanion, PyA, has been structurally and magnetochemically characterized. The compound is a rare example of a tetranuclear star-shaped metal topology containing pyridine-2-aldoximato ligands. Static magnetic studies have demonstrated very weak antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the paramagnetic centers (S(Cr) = 3/2 and S(Mn) = 5/2) resulting in closely spaced low-lying levels, which undergo splitting and crossing. Preliminary high-field EPR measurements (20 < nu < 388 GHz) indicate the presence of zero-field splitting D of the order of 0.7 cm(-1).

Radical−Ligand-Derived C−N Coupling, Ga(III)−Radical vs Low-Spin Co(III)−Radical Reactivity

The redox-active ligand 2-(3,5-dimethoxyanilino)-4,6-di- tert-butylphenol, H 2L (OCH3), results in, as expected, a trisradical complex with a low-spin Co(III) center, [Co (III)(L (OCH3) (*)) 3] ( 1), whereas the Ga(III) center yields a coordinated new hexadentate monoradical ligand, [Ga (III)L (*) 1] ( 2), presumably due to the ligand-derived redox activity involving C-H activation.