Copper(II) acetate mediated coupling reactions between 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine or 2-picolylazide and two terminal alkynes afford 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing ligands L(1)-L(6). These ligands contain various nitrogen-based Lewis basic sites including two different pyridyls, two nitrogen atoms on a 1,2,3-triazolyl ring, and the azido group. A rich structural diversity, which includes mononuclear and dinuclear complexes as well as one-dimensional polymers, was observed in the copper(II) complexes of L(1)-L(6). The preference of copper(II) to two common bidentate 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing coordination sites was investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry and, using zinc(II) as a surrogate, in (1)H NMR titration experiments. The magnetic interactions between the copper(II) centers in three dinuclear complexes were analyzed via temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements and high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The observed magnetic superexchange is strongly dependent on the orientation of magnetic orbitals of the copper(II) ions and can be completely turned off if these orbitals are arranged orthogonal to each other. This work demonstrates the versatility of 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing polyaza ligands in forming metal coordination complexes of a rich structural diversity and interesting magnetic properties.

Ru(II) complexes with 5-(3-thienyl)-4,6-dipyrrin (3-TDP), containing 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) or 4,4'-bis(methoxycarbonyl)-2,2'-bipyridine (dcmb) as coligands, have been prepared and extensively characterized. Crystal structure determination of [Ru(bpy)(2)(3-TDP)]PF(6)(1a) and [Ru(bpy)(3-TDP)(2)](2) reveals that the 3-thienyl substituent is rotated with respect to the plane of the dipyrrinato moiety. These complexes, as well as [Ru(dcmb)(2)(3-TDP)]PF(6)(1b), act as panchromatic light absorbers in the visible range, with two strong absorption bands observable in each case. A comparison to known Ru(II) complexes and quantum-chemical calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) level indicate that the lower-energy band is due to metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excitation, although the frontier occupied metal-based molecular orbitals (MOs) contain significant contributions from the 3-TDP moiety. The higher energy band is assigned to the π-π* transition of the 3-TDP ligand. Each complex exhibits an easily accessible one-electron oxidation. According to DFT calculations and spectroelectrochemical experiments, the first oxidation takes place at the Ru(II) center in 1a, but is shifted to the 3-TDP ligand in 1b. An analysis of MO energy diagrams suggests that complex 1b has potential to be used for light harvesting in the dye-sensitized (Grätzel) solar cell.

The crystal structures of the self-assembled metallapentacycles [{Fe(5)(bptz)(5)(CH(3)CN)(10)} ⊂ 2SbF(6)][SbF(6)](8)(1) and [{Fe(5)(bmtz)(5)(CH(3)CN)(10)} ⊂ SbF(6)][SbF(6)](9)(2) with the π-acidic ligands bptz (3,6-bis(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine) and bmtz (3,6-bis(2-pyrimidyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine), respectively, revealed cationic pentagons templated by [SbF(6)](-) ions. The short anion-π contacts established between the anions and the tetrazine rings play an important role in the stability of the pentagons.

To explore the evolution of magnetic properties from ferromagnetic LaCo(2)P(2) to paramagnetic LaFe(2)P(2)(both of ThCr(2)Si(2) structure type) a series of mixed composition LaFe(x)Co(2-x)P(2)(x ≤ 0.5) has been comprehensively investigated by means of single-crystal and powder X-ray and neutron diffraction, magnetization and heat capacity measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electronic band structure calculations. The Curie temperature decreases from 132 K in LaCo(2)P(2) to 91 K in LaFe(0.05)Co(1.95)P(2). The ferromagnetic ordering is suppressed at higher Fe content. LaFe(0.1)Co(1.9)P(2) and LaFe(0.2)Co(1.8)P(2) demonstrate spin-glass-like behavior, which was also confirmed by the absence of characteristic features of long-range magnetic ordering, namely, a λ-type anomaly in the heat capacity, a hyperfine splitting in the Mössbauer spectrum, and magnetic reflections in the neutron diffraction pattern. Finally, both LaFe(0.3)Co(1.7)P(2) and LaFe(0.5)Co(1.5)P(2) exhibit paramagnetic behavior down to 1.8 K. The unit cell parameters of the mixed compounds do not follow the Vegard behavior as the increase in the Fe content results in the decrease of average M-M distances (M = Fe, Co). Quantum-chemical calculations and crystal orbital Hamiltonian population analysis reveal that upon aliovalent (nonisoelectronic) substitution of Fe for Co the antibonding character of M-M interactions is reduced while the Fermi level is shifted below the DOS peak in the 3d metal subband. As the result, at higher Fe content the Stoner criterion is not satisfied and no magnetic ordering is observed.

LaCo(2)As(2) can be synthesized as pure crystalline material by annealing a mixture of elements in Bi flux. The reaction, however, is accompanied by the incorporation of a small quantity of Bi into the structure and the formation of vacancies in the Co sublattice, which lead to substantial changes in structural and magnetic properties of the material.

Rapid coupling reactions between 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine and terminal alkynes in the presence of 5 mol% Cu(OAc)(2)·H(2)O without the addition of a reducing agent afford tridentate ligands for first-row transition-metal ions. The chelation between Cu(II) and alkylated nitrogen atoms of the azido groups of 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine, as observed in the solid state, is credited for the acceleration of the azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions.

Two families of cationic cyanide-bridged complexes, namely,{[Co(triphos)(CN)(2)](2)[M(MeOH)(4)]}(ClO(4))(2)([Co(2)M] M=Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni; triphos=1,1,1-tris((diphenylphosphino)methyl)ethane) and {[Co(triphos)(CN)(2)](2)[M(MeOH)(4)](2)}(ClO(4))(4)([Co(2)M(2)] M=Mn and Ni) have been prepared from reactions of [Co(II)(triphos)(CN)(2)] and M(ClO(4))(2).6H(2)O (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) in methanol. The trinuclear complexes [Co(2)Mn],[Co(2)Fe], and [Co(2)Co], as well as both new tetranuclear complexes [Co(2)Mn(2)] and [Co(2)Ni(2)], exhibit antiferromagnetic coupling between metal centers. In contrast, the [Co(2)Ni] is characterized by ferromagnetic interactions between the Co(II) and Ni(II) centers. The magnetic behavior for these complexes was investigated by DFT calculations and was found to derive from overlap patterns of the different magnetic orbitals as influenced by the angles of the cyanide bridges.

The tridentate aminopyridine ligand bearing a bulky tert-butyl substituent at the amine nitrogen, tert-butyl-dipicolylamine (tBuDPA), occupies three coordination sites in six-coordinate complexes of nickel(ii), leaving the remaining three sites available for additional ligand binding and activation. New crystallographically characterized complexes include two mononuclear species with 1:1 metal:ligand complexation: a trihydrate solvate (.3H(2)O) and a monohydrate biacetonitrile solvate (.H(2)O.2CH(3)CN). Complexation in the presence of sodium hydroxide results in a bis(mu-hydroxo) complex (), the bridging hydroxide anions of which are labile and become displaced by methoxide anions in methanol solvent, affording bis-methoxo-bridged (). Nickel(ii) centers in are five-coordinate and antiferromagnetically coupled (with J =-31.4(5) cm(-1), H =-2JS(1)S(2), in agreement with Ni-O-Ni angle of 103.7 degrees ). Bridging hydroxide or alkoxide anions in coordinatively unsaturated dinuclear nickel(ii) complexes with tBuDPA react as active nucleophiles. readily performs carbon dioxide fixation, resulting in the formation of a bis(mu-carbonato) tetrameric complex (), which features a novel binding geometry in the form of an inverted butterfly-type nickel-carbonate core. Temperature-dependent magnetic measurements of tetranuclear carbonato-bridged revealed relatively weak antiferromagnetic coupling (J(1)=-3.1(2) cm(-1)) between the two nickel centers in the core of the cluster, as well as weak antiferromagnetic pairwise interactions (J(2)= J(3)=-4.54(5) cm(-1)) between central and terminal nickel ions.

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and 1,10-phenanthroline have been fused together via a simple and efficient synthetic procedure that provides a new bidentate ligand, 4',5'-ethylenedithiotetrathiafulvenyl[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline (EDT-TTF-phen, 1). Its ruthenium(II) complex exhibits a unique packing of TTF subunits in the solid state. In an acetonitrile solution,[Ru(bpy)(2)(1)](PF(6))(2) undergoes facile oxidative cleavage of the C horizontal lineC double bond, which cannot be observed in the dark or under anaerobic conditions. This points to the photocatalytic role played by the ruthenium(II) chromophore in this conversion.