Christian Näther

Thermodynamically Metastable Thiocyanato Coordination Polymer That Shows Slow Relaxations of the Magnetization

Reaction of cobalt thiocyanate with 4-acetylpyridine leads to the formation of [Co(NCS)2(4-acetylpyridine)2]n (3/I). In its crystal structure the Co cations are connected by pairs of μ-1,3-bridging thiocyanato ligands into dimers that are further connected into layers by single anionic ligands. DTA-TG measurements of Co(NCS)2(4-acetyl-pyridine)4 (1) led to the formation of 3/I. In contrast, when the hydrate Co(NCS)2(4-acetyl-pyridine)2(H2O)2 (2) is decomposed, a mixture of 3/I and a thermodynamically metastable form 3/II is obtained. Further investigations reveal that thermal annealing of 2 leads to the formation of 3/II, that contains only traces of the stable form 3/I. DSC and temperature dependent X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) measurements prove that 3/II transforms into 3/I on heating. The crystal structure of 3/II was determined ab initio from XRPD data. In its crystal structure the Co cations are linked by pairs of bridging thiocyanato anions into a 1D coordination polymer, and thus, 3/II is an isomer of 3/I. Magnetic measurements disclose that the stable form 3/I only shows paramagnetism without any magnetic anomaly down to 2 K. In contrast, the metastable form 3/II shows ferromagnetic behavior. The phase transition into ordered state at Tc = 3.8 K was confirmed by specific heat measurements. Alternating current susceptibility measurements show frequency dependent maxima in χ and χ″, which is indicative for a slow relaxation of the magnetization.

Selective Aromatic Hydroxylation with Dioxygen and Simple Copper Imine Complexes

The formation of a bis(μ-oxido)dicopper complex with the ligand 2-(diethylaminoethyl)-6-phenylpyridine (PPN) and its subsequent hydroxylation of the pendant phenyl group (studied earlier by Holland etu2005al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.- 1999, 38, 1139-1142) has been reinvestigated to gain a better understanding of such systems in view of the development of new synthetic applications. To this end, we prepared a simple copper imine complex system that also affords selective o-hydroxylation of aromatic aldehydes by using dioxygen as the oxidant: Applying the ligand N-benzylidene-N,N-diethylethylenediamine (BDED), salicylaldehyde was prepared in good yields and we show that this reaction also occurs through an intermediate bis-μ-oxido copper complex. The underlying reaction mechanism for the PPN-supported complex was studied at the BLYP-D/TZVP level of density functional theory and the results for representative stationary points along reaction paths of the BDED-supported complex reveal a closely related mechanistic scenario. The results demonstrate a new facile synthetic way to introduce OH groups into aromatic aldehydes.

Synthesis of Functionalized Perfluorinated Porphyrins for Improved Spin Switching.

We have established a method to synthesize perfluorinated meso-phenylporphyrins with one phenyl group bearing a substituent in the ortho position. These novel electron-deficient porphyrins are interesting for model enzymes, catalysis, photodynamic therapy, and electron transfer. The key step is the synthesis of an iodine-substituted porphyrin and its Suzuki cross coupling with boronic acid derivatives. We applied the novel strategy to synthesize a highly electron-deficient, azopyridine-substituted Ni-porphyrin that undergoes an improved ligand-driven coordination-induced spin-state switch.

Two polymorphs of 4-hydroxypiperidine with different NH configurations

4-Hydroxypiperidine 1 exists in two crystal forms, tetragonal 1t, space group P21c and orthorhombic 1o, space group Fdd2, both with one molecule in the asymmetric unit. The latter form was obtained only rarely and in small quantities. In form 1t, the NH hydrogen is axial, whereas in 1o it is equatorial; the OH group is equatorial in both structures. The packing of both forms involves one hydrogen bond N–H⋯O and one O–H⋯N. In solution, NMR spectra indicate the presence of separate axial and equatorial forms (with respect to the OH group) below ca. −53 °C; however, not even at −104 °C, the lowest temperature reached, could any freezing out of the inversion at nitrogen be observed, implying that the energy barrier for this process is (as expected) small. We were unable to convert 1t, which appears to be the more stable form over the whole temperature range up to the melting point, to 1o by heating or via melting and re-cooling (or by any other method), perhaps because the hydrogen-bonding pattern is resistant to change. The crystalline forms 1t and 1o, despite being polymorphs of 1 with different NH configurations, should not be described as “configurational polymorphs” because of the facile interconversion in solution.