ABSTRACT
Transition metal complexes form the basis for small molecule activation and are relevant for electrocatalysis. To combine both approaches the attachment of homogeneous catalysts to metallic surfaces is of significant interest. Towards this goal a molybdenum tricarbonyl complex supported by a tripodal phosphine ligand was covalently bound to a triazatriangulene (TATA) platform via an acetylene unit and the resulting TATA-functionalised complex was deposited on a Au(111) surface. The corresponding self-assembled monolayer was characterised with scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). The vibrational properties of the surface-adsorbed complexes were investigated with the help of infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), and the frequency/intensity changes with respect to the bulk spectrum were analysed. A full vibrational analysis was performed with the help of DFT.
ABSTRACT
In this work, a detailed study of spin-state splittings in three spin crossover model compounds with DLPNO-CCSD(T) is presented. The performance in comparison to canonical CCSD(T) is assessed in detail. It was found that spin-state splittings with chemical accuracy, compared to the canonical results, are achieved when the full iterative triples (T1) scheme and TightPNO settings are applied and relativistic effects are taken into account. Having established the level of accuracy that can be reached relative to the canonical results, we have undertaken a detailed basis set study in the second part of the study. The slow convergence of the results of correlated calculations with respect to basis set extension is particularly acute for spin-state splittings for reasons discussed in detail in this Article. In fact, for some of the studied systems, 5Z basis sets are necessary in order to come close to the basis set limit that is estimated here by basis set extrapolation. Finally, the results of the present work are compared to available literature. In general, acceptable agreement with previous CCSD(T) results is found, although notable deviations stemming from differences in methodology and basis sets are noted. It is noted that the published CASPT2 numbers are far away from the extrapolated CCSD(T) numbers. In addition, dynamic quantum Monte Carlo results differ by several tens of kcal/mol from the CCSD(T) numbers. A comparison to DFT results produced with a range of popular density functionals shows the expected scattering of results and showcases the difficulty of applying DFT to spin-state energies.
ABSTRACT
Activating small molecules with transition metal complexes adsorbed on metal surfaces is a novel approach combining aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. In order to study the influence of an Au(111) substrate on the activation of the small-molecule ligand carbon monoxide, a molybdenum tricarbonyl complex containing a PN3 P pincer ligand was synthesized and investigated in the bulk, in solution, and adsorbed on an Au(111) surface. By means of a platform approach, a perpendicular orientation of the molybdenum complex was achieved and confirmed by IRRAS and NEXAFS. By using vibrational spectroscopy (IR, Raman, IRRAS) coupled to DFT calculations, the influence of the metal substrate on the activation of the CO ligands bound to the molybdenum complex was determined. The electron-withdrawing behavior of gold causes an overall shift of the CO stretching vibrations to higher frequencies, which is partly compensated by dynamic charge transfer from the substrate to the molybdenum center, which increases its (dynamic) polarizability.
ABSTRACT
Understanding and controlling the spin-crossover properties of molecular complexes can be of particular interest for potential applications in molecular spintronics. Using near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, we investigated these properties for a new vacuum-evaporable Fe(II) complex, namely [Fe(pypyr(CF3)2)2(phen)] (pypyr = 2-(2'-pyridyl)pyrrolide, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline). We find that the spin-transition temperature, well above room temperature for the bulk compound, is drastically lowered for molecules arranged in thin films. Furthermore, while within the experimentally accessible temperature range (2 K < T < 410 K) the bulk material shows indication of neither light-induced excited spin-state trapping nor soft X-ray-induced excited spin-state trapping, these effects are observed for molecules within thin films up to temperatures around 100 K. Thus, by arranging the molecules into thin films, a nominal low-spin complex is effectively transformed into a spin-crossover complex.
