Shape-Memory Platinum(II) Complexes: Intelligent Vapor-History Sensor with ON-OFF Switching Function.

A novel platinum(II)-diimine complex, [Pt(CN)2 (H2 dcphen)] (1; H2 dcphen=4,7-dicarboxy-1,10- phenanthroline), was synthesized and its vapochromic shape-memory behavior was evaluated. The as-synthesized amorphous purple solid, [Pt(CN)2 (H2 dcphen)]⋅2 H2 O (1 P), exhibited vapochromic behavior in the presence of alcoholic vapors through transformation to a red, crystalline, porous, vapor-adsorbed form, 1 R⊃vapor. The obtained 1 R⊃vapor complex released the adsorbed vapors upon heating without collapse of the porous structure. The vaporfree, porous 1 R⊃open could detect water or n-hexane vapor, although these vapors could not induce 1 P-to-1 R⊃vapor transformation, and 1 R⊃open could easily be converted to the initial 1 P by manual grinding. These results indicate that 1 is a new shape-memory material that functions through formation and collapse of the porous framework with an emission change upon vapor-adsorption and grinding; this enables it to exhibit vapor history and ON-OFF switching sensing functions.

Dynamics of Photoelectrons and Structural Changes of Tungsten Trioxide Observed by Femtosecond Transient XAFS.

The dynamics of the local electronic and geometric structures of WO3 following photoexcitation were studied by femtosecond time-resolved X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy using an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). We found that the electronic state was the first to change followed by the local structure, which was affected within 200 ps of photoexcitation.

Deprotonation of a dinuclear copper complex of 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole for high oxygen reduction activity.

A dinuclear copper(II) complex of 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole is one of the highly active copper-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in basic solutions. Our in situ X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements revealed that deprotonation of the triazole ligand might cause coordination geometrical changes, resulting in the enhancement of the ORR activity.

Systematic syntheses and metalloligand doping of flexible porous coordination polymers composed of a Co(III)-metalloligand.

A series of flexible porous coordination polymers (PCPs) RE-Co, composed of a Co(III)-metalloligand [Co(dcbpy)3](3-) (Co; H2dcbpy = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) and lanthanide cations (RE(3+) = La(3+), Ce(3+), Pr(3+), Nd(3+), Sm(3+), Eu(3+), Gd(3+), Tb(3+), Er(3+)), was systematically synthesized. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the six carboxylates at the top of each coordination octahedron of Co(III)-metalloligand were commonly bound to RE(3+) cations to form a rock-salt-type porous coordination framework. When RE-Co contains a smaller and heavier RE(3+) cation than Nd(3+), the RE-Co crystallized in the cubic Fm-3m space group, whereas the other three RE-Co with larger RE(3+) crystallized in the lower symmetrical orthorhombic Fddd space group, owing to the asymmetric 10-coordinated bicapped square antiprism structure of the larger RE(3+) cation. Powder X-ray diffraction and vapor-adsorption isotherm measurements revealed that all synthesized RE-Co PCPs show reversible amorphous-crystalline transitions, triggered by water-vapor-adsorption/desorption. This transition behavior strongly depends on the kind of RE(3+); the transition of orthorhombic RE-Co was hardly observed under exposure to CH3OH vapor, but the RE-Co with smaller cations such as Gd(3+) showed the transition under exposure to CH3OH vapors. Further tuning of vapor-adsorption property was examined by doping of Ru(II)-metalloligands, [Ru(dcbpy)3](4-), [Ru(dcbpy)2Cl2](4-), [Ru(dcbpy)(tpy)Cl](-), and [Ru(dcbpy)(dctpy)](3-) (abbreviated as RuA, RuB, RuC, and RuD, respectively; tpy = 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine, H2dctpy = 4,4″-dicarboxy-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine), into the Co(III)-metalloligand site of Gd-Co to form the Ru(II)-doped PCP RuX@Gd-Co (X = A, B, C, or D). Three Ru(II)-metalloligands, RuA, RuB, and RuD dopants, were found to be uniformly incorporated into the Gd-Co framework by replacing the original Co(III)-metalloligand, whereas the doping of RuC failed probably because of the less number of coordination sites. In addition, we found that the RuA doping into the Gd-Co PCP had a large effect on vapor-adsorption due to the electrostatic interaction originating from the negatively charged RuA sites in the framework and the charge-compensating Li(+) cations in the porous channel.

Hysteretic vapour response of a heterodinuclear platinum(II)-copper(II) complex derived from the dimer-of-dimer motif and the guest-absorbing site.

A heterodinuclear complex, syn-[PtCu(µ-pyt)2(bpy)2](2+) (syn-[PtCu]; Hpyt = pyridine-2-thiol, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine), was synthesized by stepwise complexation. Three different crystal structures of the hexafluorophosphate salts with solvent molecules as guests at the axial sites of the Cu(ii) ions, i.e. syn-[PtCu-G] (G = acetonitrile, acetone, and methanol), were determined by X-ray analyses. In the solid-state, these complexes adopt dimer-of-dimer motifs characteristic of the syn isomers of dinuclear complexes with two pyt bridging ligands arranged in a head-to-head configuration. These dinuclear complexes have a short PtCu distance (2.75-2.81 Å) and slightly different intermolecular PtPt distances (3.43-3.51 Å), which affect the colour of the solid complexes. All the syn-[PtCu-G] systems absorbed/desorbed vapour molecules; however, they exhibit different chromic changes because of the unique structural hysteresis of the desorbed form, i.e. syn-[PtCu], according to powder X-ray diffraction measurements. In addition, guest exchange occurred in the syn-[PtM-G] complexes upon exposure to the vapour of different solvents.

Flexible coordination polymers composed of luminescent ruthenium(II) metalloligands: importance of the position of the coordination site in metalloligands.

Coordination polymerization reactions between ruthenium(II) metalloligands [Ru(n,n'-dcbpy)](4-) ([nRu]; n = 4, 5; n,n'-dcbpy = n,n'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) and several divalent metal salts in basic aqueous solutions afforded porous luminescent complexes formulated as [Mg(H2O)6]{[Mg(H2O)3][4Ru]·4H2O} (Mg2[4Ru]·13H2O), [Mg2(H2O)9][5Ru]·10H2O (Mg2[5Ru]·19H2O), {[Sr4(H2O)9][4Ru]2·9H2O} (Sr2[4Ru]·9H2O)2, {[Sr2(H2O)8][5Ru]·6H2O} (Sr2[5Ru]·14H2O), and {[Cd2(H2O)2][5Ru]·10H2O} (Cd2[5Ru]·12H2O). Single-crystal X-ray structural analyses revealed that the divalent metal ions were commonly coordinated by the carboxyl groups of the [nRu] metalloligand, forming porous frameworks with a void fraction varying from 11.4% Mg2[4Ru]·13H2O to 43.9% Cd2[5Ru]·12H2O. M2[4Ru]·nH2O showed a reversible structural transition accompanied by water and methanol vapor adsorption/desorption, while the porous structures of M2[5Ru]·nH2O were irreversibly collapsed by the removal of crystal water. The triplet metal-to-ligand charge-transfer emission energies of M2[4Ru]·nH2O were lower than those of [4Ru] in aqueous solution, whereas those of M2[5Ru]·nH2O were close to those of [5Ru] in aqueous solution. These results suggested that the position of the coordination site in the metalloligand played an important role not only on the structure of the porous framework but also on the structural flexibility involving the guest adsorption/desorption properties.

Vapour and mechanically induced chromic behaviour of platinum complexes with a dimer-of-dimer motif and the effects of heterometal ions.

Heterodinuclear complexes, syn-[MPt(µ-pyt)2(bpy)2](n+) (syn-[MPt], M = Pd(2+), Au(3+), Hpyt = pyridine-2-thiol, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine), were synthesized as a selective geometrical isomer by stepwise complexation. X-ray analyses of the hexafluorophosphate salts of these complexes proved their dinuclear structures with short M···Pt distances (2.9084(4) Å for syn-[PdPt] and 2.9071(4) Å for syn-[AuPt]), similar to the homodinuclear complex (2.9292(2) Å for syn-[PtPt]). In the syn-[PdPt] crystal, two dinuclear motifs are arranged closely in a head-to-head manner with a short Pt···Pt distance (3.3757(3) Å), forming a dimer-of-dimer structure as in the case of syn-[PtPt], whereas the corresponding crystal of syn-[AuPt] has a discrete arrangement of the dinuclear motifs. By the isomerisation of syn-[PdPt], anti-[PdPt] with equivalent environments of the Pd(2+) and Pt(2+) ions was also obtained successfully. Syn-[PdPt](PF6)2 exhibits vapochromic behaviour based on the absorption/desorption of CH3CN vapour, similar to that observed for syn-[PtPt](PF6)2. The reversible structural transformations induced by the uptake and release of CH3CN molecules were investigated by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. These revealed that the vapochromic behaviour was based on the interconversion between two phases, the dimer-of-dimer structure with a short Pt···Pt distance and a π-π stacked arrangement with no Pt···Pt intermolecular interaction. The introduction of the heterometal ions enabled control of the colour region: orange ↔ red for syn-[PdPt] vs. light red ↔ dark red for syn-[PtPt], reflecting the weaker metal-metal interaction between Pd(2+) and Pt(2+) ions in the dinuclear motif. In addition, these complexes were found to exhibit mechanochromic behaviour based on a crystal-to-amorphous transformation upon grinding, and the reconstruction of the crystal structures by vapour sorption.

Terpyridine platinum(II) complexes containing triazine di- or tri-thiolate bridges: structures, luminescence, electrochemistry, and aggregation.

Dinuclear complexes [{Pt(trpy)}(2)(L)](PF(6))(2) (trpy = 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, L = 2-octylthio-1,3,5-triazine-4,6-dithiolate ion (1), L = 2-octadecylthio-1,3,5-triazine-4,6-dithiolate ion (2), L = 2-di-n-butylamino-1,3,5-triazine-4,6-dithiolate ion (3)) and a trinuclear complex [{Pt(trpy)}(3)(L)](PF(6))(3) (L = 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-trithiolate ion (4)) have been synthesized and characterized. The single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the two {Pt(trpy)}(2+) fragments in 1 and 3 adopt a syn-configuration. The PtPt distances are around 4.3 Å, suggesting no intramolecular PtPt interactions. Complexes 1-4 in acetonitrile show broad absorption bands at around 470 nm, assigned to mainly the ligand-to-ligand charge transfer ((1)LLCT) from triazine thiolates to trpy based on the comparison to the related complexes and the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The red luminescence of 1-4 in acetonitrile is attributable to emission predominantly from (3)LLCT. Cyclic voltammograms of 1-3 exhibit four redox couples from -2.0 V to 0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The two consecutive processes at around -0.70 V are assigned to the sequential reduction of two trpy ligands. This assignment was further supported by the observation of the anion radical of trpy in spectroelectrochemical experiments. The splitting of the redox potentials of two trpy ligands evidences the moderate electronic coupling interactions mediated by the triazine dithiolate bridges. Complex 2 formed a transparent red gel in CH(3)CN, whereas 4 produced a gel-like solid in the mixtures of CH(3)CN and other solvents. The interactions dominating the aggregative behaviours have been discussed based on the results of electronic absorption and emission spectroscopy.

Ln-Co-based rock-salt-type porous coordination polymers: vapor response controlled by changing the lanthanide ion.

We synthesized new porous coordination polymers (PCPs) {Ln(III)[Co(III)(dcbpy)(3)]·nH(2)O} (Ln = La(3+), Nd(3+), Gd(3+); H(2)dcbpy = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) and characterized them by X-ray diffraction and vapor-adsorption measurements. These three Ln-Co-based PCPs have similar rock-salt types and highly symmetrical porous structure and show a reversible structural collapse-regeneration accompanied by water-vapor desorption-adsorption. Similar structural regeneration was also observed for the Gd-Co PCP upon exposure to MeOH and CH(3)CN vapors, whereas the remaining two PCPs barely responded to organic vapors.

De novo gene expression and antisense inhibition in cultured cells of BmTRN-1, cloned from the midgut of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, which is homologous with mammalian TIA-1/R.

A cDNA encoding a 388 amino acid TIA-1-type RNA-binding protein (BmTRN-1) was isolated from midgut cDNAs of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, via homologous cloning, in order to characterize its function. The deduced amino acid sequence, most likely encoded by a single copy gene, has significant homology with human TIA-1 and TIAR known as apoptotic regulators and recently reported to function as important factors for either splicing or translation. RT-PCR analysis showed that the BmTRN-1 gene was vigorously transcribed in the midgut at the gut purge stage, indicating a possible relation to the tissue-decomposing process in larval-pupal metamorphosis. We also show that inhibition of the expression of BmTRN-1 by a transfected oligonucleotide encoding the antisense sequence caused a remarkable rise in protein expression from artificially constructed cDNAs encoded by plasmid vectors in Bombyx cells, depending on the constructed ORF sequences of the introduced cDNAs. Furthermore, it was shown that the transcripts from the cDNAs introduced into the cells increased under the antisense-inhibition of BmTRN-1 when the protein levels of these cDNAs also rose, demonstrating that BmTRN-1 could act as a regulator especially of the mechanism eliminating transcripts with possible targets for BmTRN-1 recognition in the authentic post-transcription process.