Jürg Hauser

TetrathiafulvaleneBenzothiadiazoles as Redox‐Tunable Donor–Acceptor Systems: Synthesis and Photophysical Study

Electrochemical and photophysical analysis of new donor-acceptor systems 2 and 3, in which a benzothiadiazole (BTD) unit is covalently linked to a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) core, have verified that the lowest excited state can be ascribed to an intramolecular-charge-transfer (ICT) π(TTF)→π*(benzothiadiazole) transition. Owing to better overlap of the HOMO and LUMO in the fused scaffold of compound 3, the intensity of the (1)ICT band is substantially higher compared to that in compound 2. The corresponding CT fluorescence is also observed in both cases. The radical cation TTF(+·) is easily observed through chemical and electrochemical oxidation by performing steady-state absorption experiments. Interestingly, compound 2 is photo-oxidized under aerobic conditions.

Low-energy contamination of Mo microsource X-ray radiation: analysis and solution of the problem

In recent years, microsource sealed tubes in combination with multilayer optics have been adopted in many crystallography laboratories for very low power X-ray generation, monochromatization and high-brilliance microfocusing. All these factors allow high-performance experiments on a laboratory scale. However, a fundamental defect of this technology has been discovered, namely a significant contamination of the characteristic radiation by low-energy photons. Some simple experiments are reported, showing that the contamination can significantly reduce the accuracy of the measured intensities, especially when Mo Kα radiation is used. A simple and economic solution to the problem is proposed: an aluminium filter approximately 100 µm thick, which efficiently removes the low-energy contaminant photons.

Photogeneration of nitrosyl linkage isomers in octahedrally coordinated platinum complexes in the red spectral range.

Octahedrally coordinated platinum nitrosyl complexes [Pt(NH(3))(4)(NO(3))(NO)](NO(3))(2) (1) and [Pt(NH(3))(4)(SO(4))(NO)](HSO(4))(CH(3)CN) (2) undergo linkage isomerization at temperatures below 130 K when excited with red light. Irradiation in the spectral range of 570-800 nm results in an inversion of the NO ligand from a Pt-NO to a Pt-ON configuration. The metastable state Pt-ON can be reverted back to the ground state (GS) Pt-NO by irradiation with blue-green or infrared light or by heating above 130 K. The characteristic shift of the nu(NO) stretching vibration from 1744 to 1815 cm(-1) in 1 and from 1714 to 1814 cm(-1) in 2 allowed the unambiguous identification of the respective nitrosyl isomers. Up to 26% of the complexes of 1 and 20% of 2 may be photochemically excited toward the metastable state (MS). Using X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations, it is shown that the Pt-NO in these {MNO}(8) complexes exhibits a bent arrangement with a Pt-N-O angle in the range of 117-120 degrees. As a consequence and in contrast to the known {MNO}(6) complexes only one metastable linkage isomer Pt-ON with a correspondingly bent Pt-O-N arrangement is formed, as evidenced by spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The calculated partial density of states shows that the charge transfer transition Pt(5d) --> pi(star)(NO) is responsible for the formation of the metastable state.

Electronic tuning effects via cyano substitution of a fused tetrathiafulvalene–benzothiadiazole dyad for ambipolar transport properties

Electronic tuning effects of substituents at the 4- and 8-positions of benzothiadiazole (BTD) within the fused tetrathiafulvalene–BTD donor–acceptor dyad have been studied. The electron acceptor strength of BTD is greatly increased by replacing Br with CN groups, extending the optical absorption of the small dyad into the near-IR region and importantly, the charge transport can be switched from p-type to ambipolar behaviour.

Synthesis and Structural Elucidation of Triazolylmolybdenum(VI) Oxide Hybrids and Their Behavior as Oxidation Catalysts.

A large family of bifunctional 1,2,4-triazole molecular tectons (tr) has been explored for engineering molybdenum(VI) oxide hybrid solids. Specifically, tr ligands bearing auxiliary basic or acidic groups were of the type amine, pyrazole, 1H-tetrazole, and 1,2,4-triazole. The organically templated molybdenum(VI) oxide solids with the general compositions [MoO3(tr)], [Mo2O6(tr)], and [Mo2O6(tr)(H2O)2] were prepared under mild hydrothermal conditions or by refluxing in water. Their crystal structures consist of zigzag chains, ribbons, or helixes of alternating cis-{MoO4N2} or {MoO5N} polyhedra stapled by short [N-N]-tr bridges that for bitriazole ligands convert the motifs into 2D or 3D frameworks. The high thermal (235-350 °C) and chemical stability observed for the materials makes them promising for catalytic applications. The molybdenum(VI) oxide hybrids were successfully explored as versatile oxidation catalysts with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) or aqueous H2O2 as an oxygen source, at 70 °C. Catalytic performances were influenced by the different acidic-basic properties and steric hindrances of coordinating organic ligands as well as the structural dimensionality of the hybrid.

A Compact Tetrathiafulvalene–Benzothiadiazole Dyad and Its Highly Symmetrical Charge‐Transfer Salt: Ordered Donor π‐Stacks Closely Bound to Their Acceptors

A compact and planar donor-acceptor molecule 1 comprising tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and benzothiadiazole (BTD) units has been synthesised and experimentally characterised by structural, optical, and electrochemical methods. Solution-processed and thermally evaporated thin films of 1 have also been explored as active materials in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). For these devices, hole field-effect mobilities of μFE = (1.3±0.5)×10(-3) and (2.7±0.4)×10(-3)  cm(2)  V s(-1) were determined for the solution-processed and thermally evaporated thin films, respectively. An intense intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) transition at around 495 nm dominates the optical absorption spectrum of the neutral dyad, which also shows a weak emission from its ICT state. The iodine-induced oxidation of 1 leads to a partially oxidised crystalline charge-transfer (CT) salt {(1)2I3}, and eventually also to a fully oxidised compound {1I3}⋅1/2I2. Single crystals of the former CT compound, exhibiting a highly symmetrical crystal structure, reveal a fairly good room temperature electrical conductivity of the order of 2 S cm(-1). The one-dimensional spin system bears compactly bonded BTD acceptors (spatial localisation of the LUMO) along its ridge.

Analyzing diffuse scattering with supercomputers

Two new approaches to quantitatively analyze diffuse diffraction intensities from faulted layer stacking are reported. The parameters of a probability-based growth model are determined with two iterative global optimization methods: a genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results are compared with those from a third global optimization method, a differential evolution (DE) algorithm [Storn & Price (1997). J. Global Optim. 11, 341–359]. The algorithm efficiencies in the early and late stages of iteration are compared. The accuracy of the optimized parameters improves with increasing size of the simulated crystal volume. The wall clock time for computing quite large crystal volumes can be kept within reasonable limits by the parallel calculation of many crystals (clones) generated for each model parameter set on a super- or grid computer. The faulted layer stacking in single crystals of trigonal three-pointed-star-shaped tris(bicylco[2.1.1]hexeno)benzene molecules serves as an example for the numerical computations. Based on numerical values of seven model parameters (reference parameters), nearly noise-free reference intensities of 14 diffuse streaks were simulated from 1280 clones, each consisting of 96 000 layers (reference crystal). The parameters derived from the reference intensities with GA, PSO and DE were compared with the original reference parameters as a function of the simulated total crystal volume. The statistical distribution of structural motifs in the simulated crystals is in good agreement with that in the reference crystal. The results found with the growth model for layer stacking disorder are applicable to other disorder types and modeling techniques, Monte Carlo in particular.

HOMO Stabilisation in π‐Extended Dibenzotetrathiafulvalene Derivatives for Their Application in Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

Three new organic semiconductors, in which either two methoxy units are directly linked to a dibenzotetrathiafulvalene (DB-TTF) central core and a 2,1,3-chalcogendiazole is fused on the one side, or four methoxy groups are linked to the DB-TTF, have been synthesised as active materials for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Their electrochemical behaviour, electronic absorption and fluorescence emission as well as photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer were studied. The electron-withdrawing 2,1,3-chalcogendiazole unit significantly affects the electronic properties of these semiconductors, lowering both the HOMO and LUMO energy levels and hence increasing the stability of the semiconducting material. The solution-processed single-crystal transistors exhibit high performance with a hole mobility up to 0.04 cm(2)  V(-1)  s(-1) as well as good ambient stability.

Crystal structure and formula revision of deliensite, Fe[(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2](H2O)7

Abstract The crystal structure of deliensite, Fe[(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2](H2O)7, was solved by direct methods and refined to R1 = 6.24% for 5211 unique observed reflections [Iobs > 3σ(I)], on a crystal that was found to consist of rotational and inversion (merohedral) twins, from Jerony’m mine, Abertamy in the Czech Republic. The presence of four twin domains was taken into account in the refinement. The structure is orthorhombic, space group Pnn2, with unit-cell parameters a = 15.8514(9), b = 16.2478(7), c = 6.8943(3) Å , V = 1775.6(1) Å3 and Z = 4. The crystal structure of deliensite contains uranyl-sulfate sheets with a phosphuranylite topology, consisting of dimers of edge-sharing uranyl pentagonal bipyramids linked by corner-sharing with sulfate tetrahedra. The sheets lie in the (100) plane and are decorated by [Fe2+O(H2O)5] octahedra; two weakly bonded H2O molecules are present in the interlayer. The [Fe2+O(H2O)5] octahedron is linked directly to the sheet via the uranyl oxygen atom. Adjacent sheets are linked by hydrogen bonds only. The sheet topology and geometrical isomerism is discussed and a comparison of the composition obtained from electron-probe microanalysis, powderdiffraction data, Raman and infrared spectra of deliensite samples from Mas d’Alary, Lodève, France; L’Ecarpière mine, Gétigné, France; and several localities at Jáchymov, Western Bohemia, Czech Republic is made.

A quinoxaline-fused tetrathiafulvalene derivative and its semiconducting charge-transfer salt: synthesis, crystal structures and physical properties

A quinoxaline-fused tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative 1 has been synthesized to form a compact and planar π-conjugated donor–acceptor (D–π–A) ensemble, and its single crystal structure has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The inherent redox activity of 1 has been probed by cyclic voltammetry, and UV-vis spectroscopy revealed the typical broad and intense intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) absorption occurring for such compactly fused D–π–A molecules. Reaction with iodine led to a 2 : 1 semiconducting charge-transfer salt {(1)2I3}, whose single crystal structure investigation, however, underlined the occurrence of a pronounced charge localization in the organic lattice. Consequently, the electrical conductivity of {(1)2I3}, measured by the four contact method on single crystals, gave only a limited value of about 1 × 10−4 Ω−1 cm−1, and the activation energy was determined to be on the order of 470–480 meV.