Selective Pathway toward Heteroleptic Spin-Crossover Iron(II) Complexes with Pyridine-Based N-Donor Ligands.

A new synthetic pathway is devised to selectively produce previously elusive heteroleptic iron(II) complexes of terpyridine and N,N'-disubstituted bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines that stabilize the opposite spin states of the metal ion. Such a combination of the ligands in a series of the heteroleptic complexes induces the spin-crossover (SCO) not experienced by the homoleptic complexes of these ligands or shifts it to lower/higher temperatures respective to the SCO-active homoleptic complex. The midpoint temperatures of the resulting SCO span from ca. 200 K to the ambient temperature and beyond the highest temperature accessible by NMR spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry. The proposed "one-pot" approach is applicable to other N-donor ligands to selectively produce heteroleptic complexes─including those inaccessible by alternative synthetic pathways─with highly tunable SCO behaviors for practical applications in sensing, switching, and multifunctional devices.

Analysis of reduced paramagnetic shifts as an effective tool in NMR spectroscopy.

A recently introduced concept of reduced paramagnetic shifts (RPS) in NMR spectroscopy is applied here to a series of paramagnetic complexes with different metal ions, such as iron(II), iron(III) and cobalt(II), in different coordination environments of N-donor ligands, including a unique trigonal-prismatic geometry that is behind some record single-molecule magnet behaviours. A simple, almost visual analysis of the chemical shifts as a function of temperature, which is at the core of this approach, allows for a correct signal assignment and evaluation of the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility, the key indicator of a good single molecule magnet, that often cannot be done using traditional techniques rooted in quantum chemistry and NMR spectroscopy. The proposed approach thus emerged as a powerful alternative in deciphering the NMR spectra of paramagnetic compounds for applications in data processing and storage, magnetic resonance imaging and structural biology.

One-pot synthesis of substituted pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridine-4,5-diones based on the reaction of N-(1-(4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl)-2-oxo-2-arylethyl)acetamide with amines.

The condensation of primary amines with N-(1-(4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl)-2-oxo-2-arylethyl)acetamides was explored. Thus, a previously unknown recyclization of the starting material was observed in acidic ethanol in the presence of an amine, which provided the corresponding dihydropyrrolone derivative as the major reaction product. Based on this transformation, a practical and convenient one-pot synthetic method for substituted pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridin-5-ones could be devised.

Activation of Pd-precatalysts by organic compounds for vinyl-addition polymerization of a norbornene derivative.

An approach to activating Pd-complexes without using additives such as Lewis acids has been developed for addition polymerization of norbornenes. Aryl iodides and aryl diazonium salts were efficiently applied as cocatalysts to Pd(0)- and Pd(2+)-complexes. The developed systems catalyzed polymerization of norbornenes containing bulky and polar functional groups both in an inert atmosphere and air resulting in soluble and high-molecular-weight saturated polymers.

Room-Temperature Spin Crossover in a Solution of Iron(II) Complexes with N,N'-Disubstituted Bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridines.

Here, we report a combined study of the effects of two chemical modifications to an N,N'-disubstituted bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine (3-bpp) and of different solvents on the spin-crossover (SCO) behavior in otherwise high-spin iron(II) complexes by solution NMR spectroscopy. The observed stabilization of the low-spin state by electron-withdrawing substituents in the two positions of the ligand that induce opposite electronic effects in SCO-active iron(II) complexes of isomeric bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridines (1-bpp) was previously hidden by NH functionalities in 3-bpp precluding the molecular design of SCO compounds with this family of ligands. With the recent SCO-assisting substituent design, the uncovered trends converged toward the first iron(II) complex of N,N'-disubstituted 3-bpp to undergo an almost complete SCO centered at room temperature in a less polar solvent of a high hydrogen-bond acceptor ability.

Mixed er-NHC/phosphine Pd(ii) complexes and their catalytic activity in the Buchwald-Hartwig reaction under solvent-free conditions.

A series of novel (NHC)PdCl2-PR3 complexes were synthesized and fully characterized by 1H, 13C, 31P NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. These complexes showed high catalytic activity toward solvent-free Buchwald-Hartwig amination. Both primary and secondary amines were efficiently utilized under the same reaction conditions. The solvent-free synthesis of valuable N-aryl carbazoles and similar N-heterocyclic systems was described.