The Heterocyclic Diradical Benzo-1,2:4,5-bis(1,3,2-dithiazolyl). Electronic, Molecular and Solid State Structure

Synthesis, structural analysis, and properties of highly twisted alkenes 13,13'-bis(dibenzo[a,i]fluorenylidene) and its derivatives

The rotation of a C = C bond in an alkene can be efficiently accelerated by creating the high-strain ground state and stabilizing the transition state of the process. Herein, the synthesis, structures, and properties of several highly twisted alkenes are comprehensively explored. A facile and practical synthetic approach to target molecules is developed. The twist angles and lengths of the central C = C bonds in these molecules are 36-58° and 1.40-1.43 Å, respectively, and confirmed by X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations. A quasi-planar molecular half with the π-extended substituents delivers a shallow rotational barrier (down to 2.35 kcal/mol), indicating that the rotation of the C = C bond is as facile as that of the aryl-aryl bond in 2-flourobiphenyl. Other versatile and unique properties of the studied compounds include a broad photoabsorption range (from 250 up to 1100 nm), a reduced HOMO-LUMO gap (1.26-1.68 eV), and a small singlet-triplet energy gap (3.65-5.68 kcal/mol).

A Theoretical Account of the Coupling between Metal- and Ligand-centred Spins

This study addresses the magnetic interaction between paramagnetic metal ions and the radical ligands taking the [Cu^II (hfac)₂ (imVDZ)] and [M^II (hfac)₂ (pyDTDA)] (imVDZ=1,5-dimethyl-3-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)-6-oxoverdazyl; hfac=(1,1,1,5,5,5)hexafluroacetylacetonate; pyDTDA=4-(2'-pyridyl)-1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl), (M=Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) compounds as reference systems. The coupling between the metal and ligand spins is quantified in terms of the exchange coupling constant (J) in the platform of density functional theory (DFT) and the wave function-based complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method. Application of DFT and broken symmetry (BS) formalism results ferromagnetic coupling for all the transition metal complexes except the Mn(II) complex. This DFT-BS prediction of magnetic nature matches with the experimental finding for all the complexes other than the Fe(II)-pyDTDA complex, for which an antiferromagnetic coupling between high spin iron and the thiazyl ligand has been reported. However, evaluation of spin state energetics through the multiconfigurational wave function-based method produces the S=3/2 ground spin state for the iron-thiazyl in parity with experiment. Electronic structure analyses find the overlap between the metal- and ligand-based singly occupied molecular orbitals (SOMOs) to be one of the major reasons attributing to different extent of exchange coupling in the systems under investigation.

Ferromagnetic ordering in the organic radical cation salt BBDTA·Au(CN)2at 8.2 K

An organic radical cation salt, BBDTA·Au(CN)₂, with a slipped π-stacking columnar structure and intercolumnar short contacts, shows ferromagnetic ordering at 8.2 K, the highest reported temperature among the BBDTA⁺cation salts.

Calculation of the 4,5-dihydro-1,3,2-dithiazolyl radical g tensor components by the coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham hybrid density functional and configuration interaction methods: a comparative study

The g tensor components of the 4,5-dihydro-1,3,2-dithiazolyl (H2DTA•) radical, which is a basic building block for molecular magnets and spintronic devices, is calculated by the coupled-perturbed Kohn-Sham (CPKS) hybrid density functional (HDF) and multireference configuration interaction-sum over states (MRCI-SOS) techniques. In both methods, the diagonalized g tensor principal axes are found to be aligned with the radical's inertial axes. The tensor components are in very good agreement with those determined experimentally by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The MRCI technique produced g tensor components that are more accurate than those obtained by the CPKS-HDF method. Nonetheless, to get reasonable MRCI results, one must include the in-plane and out-of-plane interactions in an unbiased way. The minimum reference space that satisfies these conditions is generated from a complete active space of nine electrons in six orbitals [CAS(9,6)] and contains a(1), a(2), b(1) and b(2) type orbitals. In addition, the number of roots in the MRCI-SOS g tensor expansion should include all excited states that range from 0 to 56,000 cm(-1). The most accurate results are obtained using an MRCI-SOS/CAS(13,9) calculation. These g tensor components are within the experimental accuracy range of 1000 ppm. The one- and two-electron contributions to the g tensor components are separated and individually analyzed. The very good agreement with experiment opens the door for further accurate calculations of spin Hamiltonian tensors of larger DTA• radicals.

Electronic structure of disjoint diradical 4,4'-bis(1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl) thin films

The electronic structure of the thiazyl diradical, 4,4'-bis(1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl) (BDTDA), has been investigated by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. Stacked BDTDA dimers showed an energy band dispersion of about 0.3 eV for the highest occupied molecular orbital in the direction of the surface normal of the BDTDA solid film. The pi-orbital overlap between the stacked dimers therefore evolves into a quasi one-dimensional energy band along the dimer stacking direction.

Characterization of the Diradical •NSNSC−CNSSN• and [NSNSC−CNSSN][MF6]n (n = 1, 2). The First Observation of an Excited Triplet State in Dimers of 7π −CNSSN• Radicals

Preparation and full characterization of the main-group diradical *NSNSC-CNSSN*, 8, the MF6- salt (As, Sb) of radical cation +NSNSC-CNSSN*, 8*+, and the AsF6- salt of the dication +NSNSC-CNSSN+, 82+, are presented. 8, a=6.717 (4), b=11.701(2), c=8.269(3) A, alpha=gamma=90, beta=106.69(3) degrees, monoclinic, space group P21/n, Z=4, T=203 K; 8SbF6, a=6.523(2), b=7.780(2), c=12.012(4) A, alpha=91.994(4), beta=96.716(4), gamma=09.177(4) degrees, triclinic, space group P, Z=2, T=198 K; 8[AsF6]2, a=12.7919(14), b=9.5760(11), c=18.532(2) A, alpha=gamma=90, beta=104.034(2) degrees, monoclinic, space group Pn, Z=6, T=198 K. Preparation of 8MF6 was carried out via a reduction of [CNSNS]2[MF6]2 (M=As, Sb) with either ferrocene or a SbPh3-NBu4Cl mixture. In the solid state, diamagnetic 8SbF6 contains centrosymmetric dimers [8*+]2 linked via two-electron four-centered pi*-pi* interactions with a thermally excited triplet state as detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). This is the first observation of a triplet excited state for a 7pi 1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl radical dimer. The singlet-triplet gap of the [-CNSSN*]2 radical pair was -1800+/-100 cm(-1) (-22+/-1 kJ/mol) with the ZFS components |D|=0.0267(6) cm(-1) and |E|=0.0012(1) cm(-1), corresponding to an in situ dimerization energy of ca. -11 kJ/mol. Cyclic voltammetry measurements of 8[AsF6]2 showed two reversible waves associated with a stepwise reduction of the two isomeric rings [E1/2 (+2/+1)=1.03 V; E1/2 (+1/0)=0.47 V, respectively]. 8MF6 (M=As, Sb) was further reduced to afford the mixed main-group diradical 8, containing two isomeric radical rings. In solution, 8 is thermodynamically unstable with respect to *NSSNC-CNSSN*, but is isolable in the solid state because of its low solubility in SO2. Likewise, 8SbF6, 8 is dimeric, with pi*-pi* interactions between different isomeric rings, and consequently diamagnetic; however, a slight increase in paramagnetism was observed upon grinding [from C=6.5(3)x10(-4) emu.K/mol and temperature-independent paramagnetism (TIP)=1.3(1)x10(-4) emu/mol to C=3.2(1)x10(-3) emu.K/mol and TIP=9.0(1)x10(-4) emu/mol], accompanied by an increase in the lattice-defect S=1/2 sites [from 0.087(1) to 0.43(1)%]. Computational analysis using the multiconfigurational approach [CASSCF(6,6)/6-31G*] indicated that the two-electron multicentered pi*-pi* bonds in [8*+]2 and [8]2 have substantial diradical characters, implying that their ground states are diradicaloid in nature. Our results suggest that the electronic structure of organic-radical ion pairs, for example, [TTF*+]2, [TCNE*-]2, [TCNQ*-]2, [DDQ*-]2, and related pi dimers, can be described in a similar way.

What's new in stable radical chemistry?

Many kinds of radicals are stable enough to isolate, handle, and store without any special precautions. The diversity in molecular architectures of these stable radicals is sufficiently large that the common factors governing radical stability/persistence, geometric and electronic structure, association/dimerization preferences, and reactivity have generally not been well articulated or appreciated. This review provides a survey of the major classes of stable or persistent organic/organomain group radicals with a view to presenting a unified description of the interdependencies between radical molecular structure and properties.

A One-Dimensional Coordination Polymer, BBDTA·InCl4: Possible Spin-Peierls Transition with High Critical Temperature of 108 K

We have studied the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the organic radical cation salt, BBDTA.InCl4. This material formed a one-dimensional coordination polymer. Magnetic measurements indicated the spin-Peierls transition-like behavior at 108 K, which was higher than those typically observed for the other organic spin-Peierls materials. The structural aspects of the lattice distortion from X-ray diffraction measurements at 50 K have been discussed.

Spin Transitions in a Dithiazolyl Radical: Preparation, Crystal Structures, and Magnetic Properties of 3-Cyanobenzo-1,3,2-dithiazolyl, C7H3S2N2•

The incorporation of the electronegative cyano group into the structure of the title dithiazolyl radical 1 induces a lamellar packing motif that favors spin-transition behavior. Variable-temperature magnetic studies on 1 reveal a reversible phase transition at 250 K between a diamagnetic low-temperature phase and a paramagnetic high-temperature phase. X-ray crystal structures at 180(2) and 300(2) K reveal that both phases crystallize in the space group P2(1)/c, with the phase transition associated with a doubling of the crystallographic a axis. The concomitant change in magnetic properties is associated with a change from a paramagnetic regular pi stack of radicals and a diamagnetic distorted pi stack in which an energy gap opens up at the Fermi level corresponding to a Peierls-like transition.

EPR studies on the thiophenodithiazolyl radical, C4H2S3N˙

Selective chlorination of thiophene-2,3-dithiol with SO(2)Cl(2) generates the corresponding sulfenyl chloride, 2,3-C(4)H(2)S(SCl)(2). Subsequent condensation with Me(3)SiN(3) yields the thiophenodithiazolylium salt [C(4)H(2)S(3)N]Cl, [TDTA]Cl. The structure of the cation, TDTA+, was established by X-ray diffraction as both its AsF(6)(-) and HSO(4)(-) salts. Reduction of [TDTA]Cl with Ag powder yields the radical TDTA* which was characterised by X- and Q-band (9 and 34 GHz) EPR and ENDOR studies. The spin density distributions estimated from the EPR/ENDOR measurements were found to be in very good agreement with those determined by DFT (B3LYP/6-31G*) indicating that ca 10% of the spin density is delocalised onto the thiophene ring. Comparison of the spin density distributions in TDTA* and the isoelectronic trithiatriazapentalenyl radical C(2)S(3)N(3), TTTA*, indicates that replacement of N by C-H leads to a localisation of the spin density on the dithiazolyl ring.

Quinoxaline-1,2,3-dithiazolyls — Synthesis, EPR characterization, and redox chemistry

Oxidation of quinoxalineaminothiol with SCl2 or S2Cl2/Cl2 affords a series of compounds based on the quinoxaline-1,2,3-dithiazole framework QDTA. Under highly oxidizing conditions, the 1,2,3-dithiazolyl ring is opened to afford the acyclic dichlorosulfimino-sulfenyl chlorides Clx-QDTA-Cl3 (x = 0, 1, 2). Reduction of these "trichloro" compounds leads to ring closure. For x = 2, reduction using S2Cl2 affords the dithiazolylium chloride [Cl2-QDTA][Cl]. For all values of x, reduction with iodide ion (3 mol equiv) affords the corresponding dithiazolyl radical [Clx-QDTA]. The radicals can be isolated in good yield in crude form, but attempts to purify them by vacuum sublimation lead to thermal degradation. The radicals have nonetheless been fully characterized by EPR spectroscopy, and the assignments of the observed hyperfine coupling constants cross-matched with those obtained by computation at the B3LYP/6-31G** level. The structures of the trichloro compounds Clx-QDTA-Cl3 (x = 1, 2) have been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Crystal data: Cl-QDTA-Cl3, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 30.561(5) Å, b = 4.9764(9) Å, c = 22.247(4) Å, β = 131.822(14)°, V = 2521.4(8) Å3, Z = 8, R(F) = 0.043, and Rw(F) [I [Formula: see text] σ (I)] = 0.049; Cl2-QDTA-Cl3, orthorhombic, space group Pnma, a = 18.627(12) Å, b = 6.848(4) Å, c = 10.926(7) Å, V = 1393.7(15) Å3, Z = 4, R(F) = 0.047, and Rw(F) [I [Formula: see text] 3σ(I)] = 0.060.Key words: thiazyl radicals, molecular conductors, EPR spectroscopy, quinoxaline, DFT calculations.

A three-dimensional synthetic metallic crystal composed of single-component molecules

Molecular metals normally require charge transfer between two different chemical species. We prepared crystals of [Ni(tmdt)2] (tmdt, trimethylenetetrathiafulvalenedithiolate) and carried out crystal structure analyses and resistivity measurements. The analyses and measurements revealed that these single-component molecular crystals are metallic from room temperature down to 0.6 kelvin. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations suggested that pi molecular orbitals form conduction bands. The compact molecular arrangement, intermolecular overlap integrals of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals, and tight-binding electronic band structure calculation revealed that [Ni(tmdt)2] is a three-dimensional synthetic metal composed of planar molecules.