Suitability of Habitats in Nepal for Dactylorhiza hatagirea Now and under Predicted Future Changes in Climate.

Dactylorhiza hatagirea is a terrestrial orchid listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and classified as threatened by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is endemic to the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region, distributed from Pakistan to China. The main threat to its existence is climate change and the associated change in the distribution of its suitable habitats to higher altitudes due to increasing temperature. It is therefore necessary to determine the habitats that are suitable for its survival and their expected distribution after the predicted changes in climate. To do this, we use Maxent modelling of the data for its 208 locations. We predict its distribution in 2050 and 2070 using four climate change models and two greenhouse gas concentration trajectories. This revealed severe losses of suitable habitat in Nepal, in which, under the worst scenario, there will be a 71-81% reduction the number of suitable locations for D. hatagirea by 2050 and 95-98% by 2070. Under the most favorable scenario, this reduction will be 65-85% by 2070. The intermediate greenhouse gas concentration trajectory surprisingly would result in a greater reduction by 2070 than the worst-case scenario. Our results provide important guidelines that local authorities interested in conserving this species could use to select areas that need to be protected now and in the future.

A Controlled Route to a Luminescent 3 d10 -5 d10 Sulfido Cluster Containing Unique AuCu2 (µ3 -S) Motifs.

The first examples of gold(I) trimethylsilylchalcogenolate complexes were synthesized and their reactivity showcased in the preparation of a novel gold-copper-sulfur cluster [Au4 Cu4 S4 (dppm)2 ] (dppm=bis(diphenylphosphino)methane). The unprecedented structural chemistry of this compound gives rise to interesting optoelectronic properties, including long-lived orange luminescence in the solid state. Through time-dependent density functional theory calculations, this emission is shown to originate from ligand-to-metal charge transfer facilitated by Au⋅⋅⋅Cu metallophilic bonding.

Copper chalcogenide clusters stabilized with ferrocene-based diphosphine ligands.

The redox-active diphosphine ligand 1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) has been used to stabilize the copper(I) chalcogenide clusters [Cu12(µ4-S)6(µ-dppf)4] (1), [Cu8(µ4-Se)4(µ-dppf)3] (2), [Cu4(µ4-Te)(µ4-η(2)-Te2)(µ-dppf)2] (3), and [Cu12(µ5-Te)4(µ8-η(2)-Te2)2(µ-dppf)4] (4), prepared by the reaction of the copper(I) acetate coordination complex (dppf)CuOAc (5) with 0.5 equiv of E(SiMe3)2 (E = S, Se, Te). Single-crystal X-ray analyses of complexes 1-4 confirm the presence of {Cu(2x)E(x)} cores stabilized by dppf ligands on their surfaces, where the bidentate ligands adopt bridging coordination modes. The redox chemistry of cluster 1 was examined using cyclic voltammetry and compared to the electrochemistry of the free ligand dppf and the corresponding copper(I) acetate coordination complex 5. Cluster 1 shows the expected consecutive oxidations of the ferrocene moieties, Cu(I) centers, and phosphine of the dppf ligand.

Nanocluster isotope distributions measured by electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) is a widely used tool for the characterization of organometallic nanoclusters. By matching experimental mass spectra with calculated isotope distributions it is possible to determine the elemental composition of these analytes. In this work we conduct ESI-MS investigations on M(14)E(13)Cl(2)(tmeda)(6) nanoclusters, where M is a transition metal, E represents a chalcogen, and tmeda is N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-ethylenediamine. ESI mass spectra of these systems agree poorly with theoretical isotope distributions when data are acquired under standard conditions. This behavior is attributed to dead-time artifacts of the time-of-flight (TOF) analyzer used. It is well-known that excessively high TOF ion count rates lead to dead-time issues. Surprisingly, our data reveal that nanocluster spectra are affected by this problem even at moderate signal intensities that do not cause any problems for other types of analytes. This unexpected vulnerability is attributed to the extremely wide isotope distributions of the nanoclusters studied here. A good match between experimental and calculated nanocluster spectra is obtained only at ion count rates that are more than 1 order of magnitude below commonly used levels. Discrepancies between measured and theoretical isotope distributions have been observed in a number of previous ESI-MS nanocluster investigations. The dead-time issue identified here likely represents a contributing factor to the spectral distortions that were observed in those earlier studies. Using low-intensity ESI-MS conditions we demonstrate the feasibility of analyzing highly heterogeneous nanocluster samples that comprise subpopulations with a wide range of metal compositions.

Zinc chalcogenolate complexes as precursors to ZnE and Mn/ZnE (E = S, Se) clusters.

The ternary clusters (tmeda)(6)Zn(14-x)Mn(x)S(13)Cl(2) (1a-d) and (tmeda)(6)Zn(14-x)Mn(x)Se(13)Cl(2) (2a-d), (tmeda = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine; x ≈ 2-8) and the binary clusters (tmeda)(6)Zn(14)E(13)Cl(2) (E = S, 3; Se, 4;) have been isolated by reacting (tmeda)Zn(ESiMe(3))(2) with Mn(II) and Zn(II) salts. Single crystal X-ray analysis of the complexes confirms the presence of the six "(tmeda)ZnE(2)" units as capping ligands that stabilize the clusters, and distorted tetrahedral geometry around the metal centers. Mn(II) is incorporated into the ZnE framework by substitution of Zn(II) ions in the cluster. The polynuclear complexes (tmeda)(6)Zn(12.3)Mn(1.7)S(13)Cl(2)1a, (tmeda)(6)Zn(12.0)Mn(2.0)Se(13)Cl(2)2a, and (tmeda)(6)Zn(8.4)Mn(5.6)Se(13)Cl(2)2d represent the first examples of "Mn/ZnE" clusters with structural characterization and indications of the local chemical environment of the Mn(II) ions. The incorporation of higher amounts of Mn into 1d and 2d has been confirmed by elemental analysis. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that replacement of Zn with Mn is perfectly feasible and at least partly allows for the identification of some sites preferred by the Mn(II) metals. These calculations, combined with luminescence studies, suggest a distribution of the Mn(II) in the clusters. The room temperature emission spectra of clusters 1c-d display a significant red shift relative to the all zinc cluster 3, with a peak maximum centered at 730 nm. Clusters 2c-d display a peak maximum at 640 nm in their emission spectra.

N-heterocyclic carbene stabilized copper- and silver-phenylchalcogenolate ring complexes.

The ligation of a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) to group 11 metal salts (Cu, Ag) was explored as an alternative to PR(3) ligands for the formation of copper- and silver-chalcogenolate cluster complexes. AgOAc and CuCl salts ligate with the NHC 1,3-di-isopropylbenzimidazole-2-ylidene ((i)Pr(2)-bimy) forming [Ag(OAc)((i)Pr(2)-bimy)] 1, [Ag(OAc)((i)Pr(2)-bimy)(2)] 2, [CuCl((i)Pr(2)-bimy)](2)3 and [CuCl((i)Pr(2)-bimy)(2)] 4 depending on the ratio of ligand to metal used. These have been characterized via spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Complexes 1 and 3 were reacted with S(Ph)SiMe(3) and Se(Ph)SiMe(3) to form the polynuclear metal-chalcogenolates [Ag(4)(µ-EPh)(4)((i)Pr(2)-bimy)(4)] (5, E = S; 6, E = Se) and [Cu(3)(µ-EPh)(3)((i)Pr(2)-bimy)(3)] (7, E = S; 8, E = Se) in good yields. The structures of 5-8, as determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography, are described.

Trimethylsilylchalcogenolates of Co(II) and Mn(II): from mononuclear coordination complexes to clusters containing -ESiMe3 moieties (E = S, Se).

The Co(II) and Mn(II) complexes (tmeda)Co(ESiMe(3))(2) (E = S, 1a; E = Se, 1b), (3,5-Me(2)C(5)H(3)N)(2)Co(ESiMe(3))(2) (E = S, 2a; E = Se, 2b), [Li(tmeda)](2)[(tmeda)Mn(5)(mu-ESiMe(3))(2)(ESiMe(3))(4)(mu(4)-E)(mu(3)-E)(2)] (E = S, 3a; E = Se, 3b), [Li(tmeda)](2)[Mn(SSiMe(3))(4)] (4), [Li(tmeda)]4[Mn(4)(SeSiMe(3))(4)(mu(3)-Se)(4)] (5), and [Li(tmeda)](4)[Mn(Se(4))(3)] (6) (tmeda = N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine) have been isolated from reactions of Li[ESiMe(3)] and the chloride salts of these metals. The treatment of (tmeda)CoCl(2) with two equivalents of Li[ESiMe(3)] (E = S, Se) yields 1a and 1b, respectively, whereas similar reactions with MnCl(2) yield the polynuclear complexes 3a (E = S) and 3b (E = Se). The selective preparation of the mononuclear complex 4 is achieved by increasing the reaction ratios of Li[SSiMe(3)] to MnCl(2) to 4:1. Single crystal X-ray analysis of complexes 1-5, confirms the presence of the trimethylsilylchalcogenolate moieties and distorted tetrahedral geometry around the metal centers in each of these complexes. The structure of the tris(tetraselenide) complex [Li(tmeda)](4)[Mn(Se(4))(3)] (6), isolated in small quantities from the preparation of 5, is also described.