Unusual Effects of the Metal Center Coordination Mode on the Photophysical Behavior of the Rhenium(I) and Rhenium(I)-Iridium(III) Complexes.

Binuclear transition-metal complexes based on conjugated systems containing coordinating functions are potentially suitable for a wide range of applications, including light-emitting materials, sensors, light-harvesting systems, photocatalysts, etc., due to energy-transfer processes between chromophore centers. Herein we report on the synthesis, characterization, photophysical, and theoretical studies of relatively rare rhenium(I) and rhenium(I)-iridium(III) dyads prepared by using the nonsymmetrical polytopic ligands (NN2 and NN3) with the strongly conjugated phenanthroline and imidazole-quinoline/pyridine coordinating fragments. Availability of these different diimine chelating functions and targeted synthetic procedures allowed one to obtain a series of mononuclear (Re and Ir) and binuclear (Re-Re and Re-Ir) metal complexes with various modes of {Re(CO)3Cl} and {Ir(NC)2} metal fragment coordination. The obtained compounds were characterized by 1D 1H and 2D (COSY and NOESY) NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction crystallography. The photophysical study of the complexes (absorption, excitation and emission spectra, quantum yields, and excited-state lifetimes) showed that their emission parameters display strong dependence on the manner of metal center coordination to the diimine bidentate functions. The mononuclear complexes with an unoccupied imidazole-quinoline/pyridine fragment [Re(NN2), Re(NN3), and Ir(NC2)2(NN2)] or those containing a coordinated {Ir(NC)2} fragment in this position [Ir(NC2)2(NN1) and Re(NN2)Ir(NC1)2-Re(NN2)Ir(NC4)2] exhibit moderate-to-intense phosphorescence (quantum yields vary from 3% to 56% in a degassed solution), whereas the complexes containing a {Re(CO)3Cl} moiety in the imidazole-quinoline/pyridine position [Re2(NN2), Re2(NN3), and Ir(NC2)2(NN2)Re] demonstrate a strong reduction in the phosphorescence efficiency with a quantum yield of ≪0.1%. Quenching of the phosphorescence in the latter types of emitters is discussed in terms of a strong decrease in the radiative rate constants for these complexes compared to their analogues mentioned above, while the nonradiative constants remain nearly unchanged. Theoretical density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD DFT) calculations, including evaluation of the radiative rate constants for the couple of structurally analogous complexes with and without a {Re(CO)3Cl} moiety coordinated to the imidazole-quinoline/pyridine chelating function, confirmed the observed trend in the variation of the emission intensity.

Nonsymmetric [Pt(C

Five square-planar [Pt(C^N*N'^C')] complexes (Pt1-Pt5) with novel nonsymmetric tetradentate ligands (L1-L5) were synthesized and characterized. Varying the structure of the metalating aromatic systems result in substantial changes in photophysical properties and intermolecular interaction mode of the complexes in solution and in solid state. The complexes are strongly emissive in tetrahydrofuran solution, with the band maxima ranging from 560 to 690 nm. Three of these complexes (Pt1, Pt2, Pt4) afford nanospecies upon injection of their solution into water, which show aggregation-induced emission (AIE) with a strong red shift of emission bands. In the solid state, crystalline samples of these complexes demonstrate mechanochromism upon grinding with a bathochromic shift of the emission. DFT and TD-DFT computational analysis of monomeric Pt1-Pt5 in solution and model dimeric emitters formed through intermolecular interaction of Pt1, Pt2, Pt4 molecules allowed assignment of observed AIE to the 3 MMLCT excited states of Pt-Pt bonded aggregates of these complexes.

Nonsymmetric [Pt(C

Invited for the cover of this issue are the groups of Sergey P. Tunik and his colleagues from St Petersburg University. The image depicts the strong bathochromic shift of the emission wavelength of phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes upon their aggregation in the presence of water. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202202207.

Argentophillic interactions in argentum chalcogenides: First principles calculations and topological analysis of electron density.

The plasticity of Ag2 S and Ag2 Se crystals important for applications is associated mainly with AgAg metallophilic bonds, which are related to van der Waals interactions and therefore are not directed. This is demonstrated by the first principles DFT M06 LCAO calculations of Ag2 X (X = S, Se) crystals (periodic model) and hypothetical molecules Xn Ag2n (X = S, Se; n = 1, 2, 4) in gas phase (molecular model). A topological analysis of the calculated electron density, was performed both for periodic and molecular models of Ag2 X (X = S, Se). It was found that Ag-Ag interatomic distances are close in periodic and molecular models. The numerical values of electron density, its Laplacian, kinetic, and potential energy densities are also close in both models and confirm the existence of AgAg metallophilic bonds.

Origin of pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition in the van der Waals compound FePS3 from first-principles calculations.

Pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) has been studied in the van der Waals compound iron thiophosphate (FePS3 ) using first-principles calculations within the periodic linear combination of atomic orbitals method with hybrid Hartree-Fock-DFT B3LYP functional. Our calculations reproduce correctly the IMT at ∼15 GPa, which is accompanied by a reduction of the unit cell volume and of the vdW gap. We found from the detailed analysis of the projected density of states that the 3p states of phosphorus atoms contribute significantly at the bottom of the conduction band. As a result, the collapse of the band gap occurs due to changes in the electronic structure of FePS3 induced by relative displacements of phosphorus or sulfur atoms along the c-axis direction under pressure.

Topological analysis of chemical bonding in the layered FePSe3 upon pressure-induced phase transitions.

Two pressure-induced phase transitions have been theoretically studied in the layered iron phosphorus triselenide (FePSe3 ). Topological analysis of chemical bonding in FePSe3 has been performed based on the results of first-principles calculations within the periodic linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) method with hybrid Hartree-Fock-DFT B3LYP functional. The first transition at about 6 GPa is accompanied by the symmetry change from R 3 ¯ to C2/m, whereas the semiconductor-to-metal transition (SMT) occurs at about 13 GPa leading to the symmetry change from C2/m to P 3 ¯ 1 m . We found that the collapse of the band gap at about 13 GPa occurs due to changes in the electronic structure of FePSe3 induced by relative displacements of phosphorus or selenium atoms along the c-axis direction under pressure. The results of the topological analysis of the electron density and its Laplacian demonstrate that the pressure changes not only the interatomic distances but also the bond nature between the intralayer and interlayer phosphorus atoms. The interlayer P-P interactions are absent in two non-metallic FePSe3 phases while after SMT the intralayer P-P interactions weaken and the interlayer P-P interactions appear.

First-Principles Calculations of Phonons and Thermodynamic Properties of Zr(Hf)S2 -Based Nanotubes.

Comparative hybrid density functional calculations on the structure, stability, and phonon frequencies of monolayers and single-walled nanotubes are performed for Zr(Hf)S2 disulfides. The first-principles calculations of HfS2 -based nanotubes are made for the first time. The symmetry analysis of infrared and Raman active vibrational modes in ZrS2 and HfS2 nanotubes is made using the induced representations of the isogonal point groups of line groups. It is shown that the number of infrared and Raman active modes is constant for NTs with the same chirality type. The correlation of the phonon modes of the nanotubes of relatively large diameters with those of monolayer is analyzed. The thermodynamic functions of monolayers and nanotubes with various chirality and diameters are calculated on the basis of the obtained phonon frequencies. It is established that the phonon contribution to the nanotube strain energy is small, but may be important for an accurate estimate of the stability of the nanotubes of small diameters. The calculated results show that the thermal contributions to Helmholtz free energy are positive; thereby they slightly reduce the stability of ZrS2 and HfS2 nanotubes at elevated temperatures. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Functionalized Pt(II) and Ir(III) NIR Emitters and Their Covalent Conjugates with Polymer-Based Nanocarriers.

Two NIR-emitting platinum [Pt(N^N^C)(phosphine)] and iridium [Ir(N^C)2(N^N)]+ complexes containing reactive succinimide groups were synthesized and characterized with spectroscopic methods (N^N^C, 1-phenyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine, N^C, 6-(2-benzothienyl)phenanthridine, phosphine-3-(diphenylphosphaneyl)propanoic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ether, and N^N, 4-oxo-4-((1-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)butanoic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ether). Their photophysics were carefully studied and analyzed using time-dependent density functional theory calculations. These complexes were used to prepare luminescent micro- and nanoparticles with the "core-shell" morphology, where the core consisted of biodegradable polymers of different hydrophobicity, namely, poly(d,l-lactic acid), poly(ε-caprolactone), and poly(ω-pentadecalactone), whereas the shell was formed by covalent conjugation with poly(l-lysine) covalently labeled with the platinum and iridium emitters. The surface of the species was further modified with heparin to reverse their charge from positive to negative values. The microparticles' size determined with dynamic laser scanning varies considerably from 720 to 1480 nm, but the nanoparticles' diameter falls in a rather narrow range, 210-230 nm. The species with a poly(l-lysine) shell display a high positive (>30 mV) zeta-potential that makes them essentially stable in aqueous media. Inversion of the surface charge to a negative value with the heparin cover did not deteriorate the species' stability. The iridium- and platinum-containing particles displayed emissions the spectral patterns of which were essentially similar to those of unconjugated complexes, which indicate retention of the chromophore nature upon binding to the polymer and further immobilization onto polyester micro- and nanoparticles for drug delivery. The obtained particles were tested to determine their ability to penetrate into different cells types: cancer cells, stem cells, and fibroblasts. It was found that all types of particles could effectively penetrate into all cells types under investigation. Nanoparticles were shown to penetrate into the cells more effectively than microparticles. However, positively charged nanoparticles covered with poly(l-lysine) seem to interact with negatively charged proteins in the medium and enter the inner part of the cells less effectively than nanoparticles covered with poly(l-lysine)/heparin. In the case of microparticles, the species with positive zeta-potentials were more readily up-taken by the cells than those with negative values.

First-principles calculations of iodine-related point defects in CsPbI3.

We present here first principles hybrid functional calculations of the atomic and electronic structure of several iodine-related point defects in CsPbI3, a material relevant for photovoltaic applications. We show that the presence of neutral interstitial I atoms or electron holes leads to the formation of di-halide dumbbells of I2- (analogous to the well-known situation in alkali halides). Their formation and one-electron energies in the band gap are determined. The formation energy of the Frenkel defect pair (I vacancies and neutral interstitial I atoms) is found to be ∼1 eV, and as such is smaller than the band gap. We conclude that both iodine dumbbells and iodine vacancies could be, in principle, easily produced by interband optical excitation.

Infrared and Raman active vibrational modes in MoS2 -based nanotubes: Symmetry analysis and first-principles calculations.

The possibility to use the axial point group dynamical representations for the infrared and Raman active modes classification in nanotubes is analyzed. The method proposed allows one to obtain the results of phonon symmetry analysis for nanotubes in Mulliken designations, which are traditional for molecules and crystallographic point groups. The approach suggested is applied to the phonon symmetry analysis in the single-wall carbon and MoS2 -based nanotubes. First-principles calculations of phonons in a bulk MoS2 crystal and a monolayer S-Mo-S are made. The results obtained are in reasonable agreement with the existing experimental data and other published results. The first-principles calculations of the phonon frequencies for armchair and zigzag MoS2 nanotubes are performed for the first time. It is shown that the number of infrared and Raman active modes becomes fixed starting from the relatively small nanotube diameters. The correlation of the phonon modes of MoS2 nanotubes with diameters up to 3.64 nm with phonon modes of the S-Mo-S monolayer is analyzed. It is demonstrated that the interpretation of the nature of nanotube A-type modes in the crystallographic factorization of the line group L = TF is the same as for m = 0 modes in the "polymer type" factorization L = ZP where P is the subgroup of the isogonal point group F, T is the translation subgroup of line group and the cyclic group Z includes the one-dimensional translations and the rotations around the screw axes or the reflections in the glide planes. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

First-principles modeling of hafnia-based nanotubes.

Hybrid density functional theory calculations were performed for the first time on structure, stability, phonon frequencies, and thermodynamic functions of hafnia-based single-wall nanotubes. The nanotubes were rolled up from the thin free layers of cubic and tetragonal phases of HfO2 . It was shown that the most stable HfO2 single-wall nanotubes can be obtained from hexagonal (111) layer of the cubic phase. Phonon frequencies have been calculated for different HfO2 nanolayers and nanotubes to prove the local stability and to find the thermal contributions to their thermodynamic functions. The role of phonons in stability of nanotubes seems to be negligible for the internal energy and noticeable for the Helmholtz free energy. Zone folding approach has been applied to estimate the connection between phonon modes of the layer and nanotubes and to approximate the nanotube thermodynamic properties. It is found that the zone-folding approximation is sufficiently accurate for heat capacity, but less accurate for entropy. The comparison has been done between the properties of TiO2 , ZrO2 , and HfO2 . © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Phonon spectra, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of WS2 nanotubes.

Hybrid density functional theory calculations are performed for the first time on the phonon dispersion and thermodynamic properties of WS2 -based single-wall nanotubes. Symmetry analysis is presented for phonon modes in nanotubes using the standard (crystallographic) factorization for line groups. Symmetry and the number of infra-red and Raman active modes in achiral WS2 nanotubes are given for armchair and zigzag chiralities. It is demonstrated that a number of infrared and Raman active modes is independent on the nanotube diameter. The zone-folding approach is applied to find out an impact of curvature on electron and phonon band structure of nanotubes rolled up from the monolayer. Phonon frequencies obtained both for layers and nanotubes are used to compute the thermal contributions to their thermodynamic functions. The temperature dependences of energy, entropy, and heat capacity of nanotubes are estimated with respect to those of the monolayer. The role of phonons in the stability estimation of nanotubes is discussed based on Helmholtz free energy calculations. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

First-principles calculations of oxygen interstitials in corundum: a site symmetry approach.

Using site symmetry analysis, four possible positions of interstitial oxygen atoms in the α-Al2O3 hexagonal structure have been identified and studied. First principles hybrid functional calculations of the relevant atomic and electronic structures for interstitial Oi atom insertion in these positions reveal differences in energies of ∼1.5 eV. This approach allows us to get the lowest energy configuration, avoiding time-consuming calculations. It is shown that the triplet oxygen atom is barrierless displaced towards the nearest regular oxygen ion, forming a singlet dumbbell (split interstitial) configuration with an energy gain of ∼2.5 eV. The charge and spatial structure of the dumbbell is discussed. Our results are important, in particular, for understanding the radiation properties and stability of α-Al2O3 and other oxide crystals.

Application of zone-folding approach to the first-principles estimation of thermodynamic properties of carbon and ZrS2 -based nanotubes.

A zone-folding (ZF) approach is applied for the estimation of the phonon contributions to thermodynamic properties of carbon-and ZrS2 -based nanotubes (NTs) of hexagonal morphology with different chiralities. The results obtained are compared with those from the direct calculation of the thermodynamic properties of NTs using PBE0 hybrid exchange-correlation functional. The phonon contribution to the stability of NTs proved to be negligible for the internal energy and small for the Helmholtz free energy. It is found that the ZF approach allows us an accurate estimation of phonon contributions to internal energy, but slightly overestimates the phonon contributions to entropy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Temperature dependence of strain energy and thermodynamic properties of V2 O5 -based single-walled nanotubes: Zone-folding approach.

A zone-folding approach is applied to estimate the thermodynamic properties of V2 O5 -based nanotubes. The results obtained are compared with those from the direct calculations. It is shown that the zone-folding approximation allows an accurate estimation of nanotube thermodynamic properties and gives a gain in computation time compared to their direct calculations. Both approaches show that temperature effects do not change the relative stability of V2 O5 free layers and nanotubes derived from the α- and γ-phase. The internal energy thermal contributions into the strain energy of nanotubes are small and can be ignored. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Symmetry classification of electron and phonon states in TiO2 -based nanowires and nanotubes.

Procedure for deriving Wyckoff positions for nanowires (NWs) and nanotubes (NTs) from Wyckoff positions of ambient space group is described. It is proposed how to use SITESYM code available on Bilbao Crystallographic Server to calculate representations induced from orbit stabilizers for 1-periodic groups. This procedure is demonstrated on the example of TiO2 rutile-based NWs. General analytic expressions for Line group representations induced from irreps of their orbit stabilizers are obtained. This approach presupposes the use of the standard (crystallographic) factorization of Line groups. Computer construction of orbits and induced representations can be efficiently implemented and the corresponding computer code SITESYML, which can be considered as a certain elaboration of the existing code SITESYM is written. The application of the code is demonstrated on the example of TiO2 anatase-based NTs with the rectangular and hexagonal morphology.

Quantum Chemical Study of Water Adsorption on the Surfaces of SrTiO3 Nanotubes.

We have studied the adsorption of water molecules on the inner and outer surfaces of nanotubes generated by rolling (001) layers of SrTiO3 cubic crystals. The stability and the atomic and electronic structures of the adsorbed layers are determined by using hybrid density functional theory. The absorption energy and the preferred adsorbate structure are essentially governed by the nature of the surface of the nanotube. Dissociative adsorption prevails on the outer nanotube surfaces. The stability of the adsorbed layers on the inner surfaces is related to the possibility of the formation of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and surface oxygen atoms, and depends on the surface curvature. The presence of water molecules on the inner surface of the nanotubes leads to an increase of the electronic band gap. Externally TiO2 -terminated nanotubes could be used for the photocatalytic decomposition of water by ultraviolet radiation.

Theoretical Study of α-V2O5 -Based Double-Wall Nanotubes.

First-principles calculations of the atomic and electronic structure of double-wall nanotubes (DWNTs) of α-V2 O5 are performed. Relaxation of the DWNT structure leads to the formation of two types of local regions: 1) bulk-type regions and 2) puckering regions. Calculated total density of states (DOS) of DWNTs considerably differ from that of single-wall nanotubes and the single layer, as well as from the DOS of the bulk and double layer. Small shoulders that appear on edges of valence and conduction bands result in a considerable decrease in the band gaps of the DWNTs (up to 1 eV relative to the single-layer gaps). The main reason for this effect is the shift of the inner- and outer-wall DOS in opposite directions on the energetic scale. The electron density corresponding to shoulders at the conduction-band edges is localized on vanadium atoms of the bulk-type regions, whereas the electron density corresponding to shoulders at the valence-band edges belongs to oxygen atoms of both regions.

TiS2 and ZrS2 single- and double-wall nanotubes: first-principles study.

Hybrid density functional theory has been applied for investigations of the electronic and atomic structure of bulk phases, nanolayers, and nanotubes based on titanium and zirconium disulfides. Calculations have been performed on the basis of the localized atomic functions by means of the CRYSTAL-2009 computer code. The full optimization of all atomic positions in the regarded systems has been made to study the atomic relaxation and to determine the most favorable structures. The different layered and isotropic bulk phases have been considered as the possible precursors of the nanotubes. Calculations on single-walled TiS2 and ZrS2 nanotubes confirmed that the nanotubes obtained by rolling up the hexagonal crystalline layers with octahedral 1T morphology are the most stable. The strain energy of TiS2 and ZrS2 nanotubes is small, does not depend on the tube chirality, and approximately obeys to D(-2) law (D is nanotube diameter) of the classical elasticity theory. It is greater than the strain energy of the similar TiO2 and ZrO2 nanotubes; however, the formation energy of the disulfide nanotubes is considerably less than the formation energy of the dioxide nanotubes. The distance and interaction energy between the single-wall components of the double-wall nanotubes is proved to be close to the distance and interaction energy between layers in the layered crystals. Analysis of the relaxed nanotube shape using radial coordinate of the metal atoms demonstrates a small but noticeable deviation from completely cylindrical cross-section of the external walls in the armchair-like double-wall nanotubes.

BaTiO3-based nanolayers and nanotubes: first-principles calculations.

The first-principles calculations using hybrid exchange-correlation functional and localized atomic basis set are performed for BaTiO(3) (BTO) nanolayers and nanotubes (NTs) with the structure optimization. Both the cubic and the ferroelectric BTO phases are used for the nanolayers and NTs modeling. It follows from the calculations that nanolayers of the different ferroelectric BTO phases have the practically identical surface energies and are more stable than nanolayers of the cubic phase. Thin nanosheets composed of three or more dense layers of (0 1 0) and (0 1 1[overline]) faces preserve the ferroelectric displacements inherent to the initial bulk phase. The structure and stability of BTO single-wall NTs depends on the original bulk crystal phase and a wall thickness. The majority of the considered NTs with the low formation and strain energies has the mirror plane perpendicular to the tube axis and therefore cannot exhibit ferroelectricity. The NTs folded from (0 1 1[overline]) layers may show antiferroelectric arrangement of Ti-O bonds. Comparison of stability of the BTO-based and SrTiO(3)-based NTs shows that the former are more stable than the latter.