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The zero area TE of cyanide-bridged honeycomb layers occurs by complementary structural changes in the cation and anion counterparts.

Layer flexibility in two-dimensional coordination polymers (2D-CPs) contributes to several functional materials as it results in anisotropic structural response to external stimuli. Chemical modification is a common technique for modifying layer structures. This study demonstrates that crystal morphology of a cyanide-bridged 2D-CP of type [Mn(salen)]2 [ReN(CN)4 ] (1) consisting of flexible undulating layers significantly impacts the layer configuration and assembly. Nanoplates of 1 showed an in-plane contraction of layers with a longer interlayer distance compared to the micrometer-sized rod-type particles. These effects by crystal morphology on the structure of the 2D-CP impacted the structural flexibility, resulting in dual-functional changes: the enhancement of the sensitivity of structural transformation to water adsorption and modification of anisotropic thermal expansion of 1. Moreover, the nanoplates incorporated new adsorption sites within the layers, resulting in the uptake of an additional water molecule compared to the micrometer-sized rods.

We demonstrated the synthesis of a conductive two-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) thin film by single-step all-vapor-phase chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The synthesized large-area thin film of Cu

We created dual interactive sites in a porous coordination network using a CuI cluster and a rotation-restricted ligand, tetra(3-pyridyl)phenylmethane (3-TPPM). The dual interactive sites of iodide and Cu ions can adsorb I2 via four-step processes including two chemisorption processes. Initially, one I2 molecule was physisorbed in a pore and successively chemisorbed on iodide sites of the pore surface, and then the next I2 molecule was physisorbed and chemisorbed on Cu ions to form a cross-linked network. We revealed the four-step I2 diffusion process by single-crystal X-ray structure determination and spectroscopic kinetic analysis.

In condensed matter, phase separation is strongly related to ferroelasticity, ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, electron correlation, and crystallography. These ferroics are important for nano-electronic devices such as non-volatile memory. However, the quantitative information regarding the lattice (atomic) structure at the border of phase separation is unclear in many cases. Thus, to design electronic devices on the molecular level, a quantitative relationship must be established between the lattice and the electrons. Herein, we elucidated a PdII–PdIV/PdIII–PdIII phase transition and phase separation mechanism for [Pd(cptn)2Br]Br2 (cptn = 1R,2R-diaminocyclopentane), propagated through a hydrogen-bonding network. Although the Pd···Pd distance was used to determine the electronic state, the differences in the Pd···Pd distance and the optical gap between Mott–Hubbard (MH) and charge-density-wave (CDW) states were only 0.012 Å and 0.17 eV, respectively. The N–H···Br···H–N hydrogen-bonding network functioned as a jack, adjusting the structural difference dynamically, and allowing visible ferroelastic phase transition/separation in a fluctuating N2 gas flow. In addition, the effect of the phase separation on the spin susceptibility and electrical conductivity were clarified to represent the quasi-epitaxial crystals among CDW–MH states. These results indicate that the phase transitions and separations could be controlled via modifications at the atomic and molecular levels, such as the addition of hydrogen bonding.

One-dimensional (1D) organic chiral supramolecules have received a great deal of attention for their promising applications in chiral recognition systems, chemical sensors, catalysts, and optoelectronics. Compared to modifications at the imide position of a perylene diimide (PDI), few studies have explored bay substitution of chiral PDIs and their self-assemblies into 1D nanomaterials. Herein, we describe the synthesis of three bay-substituted PDIs and explore the effects of bay substitution on supramolecular chirality by examining circular dichroism spectra and the optoelectronic performance of chiral PDI nanomaterials in phototransistors. Among the three fabricated self-assemblies, nanomaterials based on (R)-CN-CPDI-Ph exhibited the highest electron mobility of 0.17 cm2 V-1 s-1, a low threshold voltage of -1 V, and enhanced optoelectronic performance. For example, the photoresponsivity and external quantum efficiency of (R)-CN-CPDI-Ph assemblies were 4-fold higher than those of (R)-2Br-CPDI-Ph and (R)-2F-CPDI-Ph. All three nanomaterials exhibited fast switching speeds compared with previously reported N-substituted PDIs, suggesting that bay substitution can be an effective means of achieving rapid photoswitching. A comprehensive study using density functional theory calculations and crystal analyses revealed that the enhanced optoelectronic performance of (R)-CN-CPDI-Ph nanomaterials is related to the substitution of CN at the bay position of PDI. This minor change provides simultaneous improvements in electron injectability and structural order. Our findings demonstrate that bay substitution can significantly impact the self-assembly, supramolecular chirality, and optoelectronic properties of PDI nanomaterials.

Chiral supramolecular metal–organic frameworks (SMOFs), i.e., AlaNDI-Ca micro-/nanocrystals have been synthesized via solvothermal reaction using alanine-based naphthalene diimide (NDI) ligands and calcium nitrate. Interestingly, chiral self-discrimination is observed upon mixing two enantiomeric ligands with calcium nitrate due to the thermodynamic preference of heterochiral SMOFs over homochiral analogs. Upon irradiation with UV light, the conductivity of SMOFs micro-/nanocrystals significantly increases and their color changes from yellow to dark brown, due to the electron-transfer-related chemical processes inside the SMOF and/or photo-induced radical formation in NDI ligands, while they are not responsive to visible light. Heterochiral AlaNDI-Ca micro-/nanocrystals with a large band gap exhibit excellent photoswitching properties, due to the reversible generation and depletion of radicals upon exposure to UV light or in the dark, respectively. To our knowledge, photodetecting MOFs for optoelectronics are extremely rare, and herein we have firstly quantitatively characterized single crystalline SMOF photodiodes with redox NDI ligands with regard to their visible-blind UV photodetecting properties with high photoresponsivity and detectivity, which exhibit superior performances in comparison with precedent MOF-based photodetectors. These findings pave the way for applications of multifunctional micro-/nanoscaled MOFs in next-generation optoelectronics.

An N-Fmoc and C-tBu-protected glutamate (1) bearing a phenanthrene moiety at the side residue crystalizes and gels to afford hetero- and homochiral assemblies, respectively, depending on its optical purity or solvent. When a non-stoichiometric mixture of enantiomers of 1 in acetonitrile was treated with the conditions that leave a mixture of gel and supernatant, it exhibited the self-disproportionation of enantiomers with an enrichment of the major enantiomer in the gel. Under similar conditions, a racemic mixture of 1 also provided a gel/supernatant mixture, where the gel was enriched in either of L or D-form of 1 stochastically as the result of macroscopic chiral symmetry breaking in its gelation process.

Chiral organic optoelectronics using circularly polarized light (CPL) as the key element in the photonic signal has recently emerged as a next-generation photonic technology. However, it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve high polarization selectivity and superior optoelectronic performance. Supramolecular two-dimensional (2D) chiral organic single crystals may be good candidates for this purpose due to their defect-free nature, molecular diversity, and morphologies. Here, quasi-2D single crystals of chiral perylene diimides with parallelogram and triangle/hexagon morphologies have been selectively fabricated

A flexible coordination polymer with a naphthalenediimide core exhibited reversible desorption–adsorption of solvent molecules and an enhancement of electrical conductivity (∼10−7 S cm−1) upon chemical reduction using hydrazine.

An air-stable heterometallic Bi-Pt complex with the formula [BiPt(SAc)5]n (1; SAc = thioacetate) was synthesized. The crystal structure, natural bond orbital (NBO) and local orbital locator (LOL) analyses, localized orbital bonding analysis (LOBA), and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements were used to confirm the existence of Bi-Pt bonding and an ionic cage of O atoms surrounding the Bi ion. From the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and controlled potential electrolysis (CPE) experiments, 1 in tetrahydrofuran reduced CO2 to CO, with a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92% and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 8 s-1 after 30 min of CPE at -0.79 V vs. NHE. The proposed mechanism includes an energetically favored pathway via the ionic cage, which is supported by the results of DFT calculations and reflectance infrared spectroelectrochemistry data.

Latency of chemical reactions is a crucial factor to control the physicochemical properties responsive to external stimuli such as light or heat. For example, when external triggers are applied to resin curing agents, curing reactions are required to be initiated instantly and uniformly. Latency is closely related to molecular architecture. In this study, we succeeded in controlling latency by tuning solubility of ionic liquid reagents in highly polar organic solvents by rational molecular packing design: implementation of a hydrogen bond network into the anion of the starting reagents raised the polymerization temperature because the solubility decreased. Because of the anion's hydrogen-bonding network, latency could be preserved even when a cation was replaced with less bulky ones. Theoretical analysis by DFT calculations supported the enhancement of latency induced by the implementation of a hydrogen bonding network in ionic liquid-type curing materials.

We prepared coordination networks that show relatively strong emission with through-space charge-transfer (TSCT) transitions. Thermolysis of a kinetically assembled network with Cu2Br2 dimer connectors, which was assembled from a CuBr cluster and the Td ligand 4-4-tetrapyridyltetraphenylmethane (4-TPPM), generated a highly luminescent network composed of Cu+ connectors and 4-TPPM linkers with CuBr2- guests. We clarified that the electronic transitions in this network include TSCT in addition to the typical metal-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) observed in conventional Cu complexes.

Chiral self-sorting has great potential for constructing new complex structures and determining chirality-dependent properties in multicomponent mixtures. However, it is still of great challenge to achieve high fidelity chiral self-discrimination. Besides, the researches on the coordination polymers or metal-organic frameworks for micro/nanooptoelectronics are still rare due to their low conductivity and difficulty in developing a rapid and simple scale-up synthetic method. Here, heterochiral supramolecular coordination networks (SCNs) were synthesized by the solvothermal reaction of naphthalene diimide enantiomers and cadmium iodide, using the chirality as a synthetic tuning parameter to control the morphologies. Intriguingly, heterochiral micro/nanocrystals exhibited photochromic and photodetecting properties. Furthermore, we also developed a simple and efficient doping method to enhance the conductivity and photoresponsivity of micro/nanocrystals using hydrazine. From experimental and theoretical studies, the mechanism was suggested as follows: the radicals in the singly occupied molecular orbital level of the ligands provide charge carriers that can undergo "through-space" transport between π-π stacked ligands and the electron transfer from adsorbed hydrazine to the SCNs results in reduction of energy gap, leading to increased conductivity. Our findings demonstrate a simple and powerful strategy for implementing coordination networks with redox ligands for micro/nanooptoelectronic applications.

Supramolecular chirality has drawn a great deal of attention due to promising applications in chiral recognition, sensing, catalysis, and device design. Here, we studied the influence of the side chains of chiral perylene diimides (PDIs) on the supramolecular chirality and optoelectronic performance. PDIs with various N-substituted alkyl chains were synthesized and self-assembled into one-dimensional nanostructures. PDI nanowires (NWs) with less bulky alkyl chains (CPDI-Cy) exhibited the maximum electron mobility of 0.67 cm2 V−1 s−1 and showed better optoelectronic performance than those with bulkier substituents (CPDI-Naph), with three orders of magnitude improvements in photoresponsivity, photosensitivity, external quantum efficiency, and detectivity (D*). Particularly, the D* of CPDI-Cy NWs was two or three orders of magnitude higher than those of other chiral PDI nanomaterials and PDI-based polymers, and is one of the highest among chiral organic semiconductors. Judging from density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, the higher optoelectronic performance of CPDI-Cy NWs mainly originated from their denser packing and favorable molecular arrangements for charge transport. These findings demonstrate the impact of side chain engineering on tuning the self-assembly process of PDI molecules, supramolecular chirality, and their consequent device performance.

The 2D coordination polymers, [Mn(salen)]2[PtII(CN)4]1-x[PtIV(CN)4(I2)]x (salen = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneaminato), x = 0.18 (1), 0.45 (2), 0.85 (3)), have been synthesized via consecutive oxidative additions of iodine to the 2D undulating layers in [Mn(salen)]2[PtII(CN)4]. The presence of I-Pt-I chains perpendicular to the layers and the inhomogeneity of individual I-Pt-I sites were demonstrated. The I-Pt-I chains in 3 give rise to an absorption band involving the excitation that arises from an antibonding nature orbital to the corresponding bonding nature orbital between iodides in the I-Pt-I bridging units. Moreover, variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction patterns and Raman spectra for 1 and 2 indicate that some I-Pt-I sites display different vibrational energies that are associated with the contraction of the zigzag 2D layers.

Correction for ‘Ionic-caged heterometallic bismuth–platinum complex exhibiting electrocatalytic CO2 reduction’ by Takefumi Yoshida et al., Dalton Trans., 2020, 49, 2652–2660.

Kinetic assembly is an important method for obtaining desired materials in chemical synthesis and material sciences. However, the application of this strategy to porous coordination networks has been limited. We highlight the kinetic assembly of porous coordination networks, which promote the production of interactive pore sites. These sites can activate or stabilize different guest molecules. The properties of interactive pores are exemplified by iodine chemisorption and small sulfur encapsulation. Using the interactive feature of these pores, we were able to trap small sulfur allotropes, such as S2, cyclo-S3, bent-S3, and S6, demonstrating their importance for the stabilization of unusual elemental species. Furthermore, several reactive elemental allotropes could also be incorporated into the interactive pores. Herein, we address the important aspects of creating interactive pore sites by kinetic assembly of porous coordination networks and present detailed case-by-case studies of small allotrope encapsulation.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (Me3NO) could selectively remove only one CO ligand from fac-[Re(N^N)(CO)3(PR2R')]+ (N^N = diimine ligand), whereby only the CO ligand in the trans position to the phosphorus ligand was selectively removed to give cis,trans-[ReI(N^N)(CO)2(PR2R')(L)] n+ in good yields. This decarbonylation reaction using Me3NO was found to be especially useful for synthesizing biscarbonyl Re(I) complexes with electron-withdrawing groups in the diimine ligand, which could not be synthesized or were obtained only in low yields by the photochemical method. Me3NO also selectively removed the carbonyl ligands in the trans position to the phosphorus ligands from the edge Re(I) complex units, which have the fac-[Re(N^N)(CO)3(PR2R')]+ structure, in linear-shaped Re(I) multinuclear complexes. This reaction was successfully applied to synthesize a novel precursor with ring-shaped multinuclear Re complexes (Re-rings) comprising different kinds of Re(I) units. The newly synthesized Re-rings, which consist of one Re unit with a 4,4'-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,2'-bipyridine (CF3bpy) ligand and one or two Re unit(s) with a 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligand, showed almost quantitative excitation-energy harvesting ability from the Re unit(s) with bpy to that with CF3bpy.

A platinum(II) terpyridine complex having an enantiopure lactate anion afforded hydrated crystals l- or d-1hyd containing infinite chains of interacting Pt centers, while their dehydration induced crystal-to-crystal transformation into l- or d-1dehyd, respectively, exhibiting less significant Pt–Pt and/or ligand–ligand interactions. That transformation was accompanied by changes in the color as well as the photochemical reactivity of the crystals, where l-1dehyd showed higher reactivity than l-1hyd in the presence of amines under visible-light irradiation.

Rational engineering and assimilation of diverse chemo- and biocatalytic functionalities in a single nanostructure is highly desired for efficient multistep chemical reactions but has so far remained elusive. Here, we design and synthesize multimodal catalytic nanoreactors (MCNRs) based on a mesoporous metal-organic framework (MOF). The MCNRs consist of customizable metal nanocrystals and stably anchored enzymes in the mesopores, as well as coordinatively unsaturated cationic metal MOF nodes, all within a single nanoreactor space. The highly intimate and diverse catalytic mesoporous microenvironments and facile accessibility to the active site in the MCNR enables the cooperative and synergistic participation from different chemo- and biocatalytic components. This was shown by one-pot multistep cascade reactions involving a heterogeneous catalytic nitroaldol reaction followed by a [Pd/lipase]-catalyzed chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution to yield optically pure (>99 % ee) nitroalcohol derivatives in quantitative yields.

Self-assembly of a series of dimetallic sequences constructed on a backbone with two successive tyrosine moieties (Fmoc-M1 -M2 -CO2 H) revealed that the resultant morphology is clearly dependent on the metal sequence, where Re-containing sequences such as homometallic Fmoc-Re-Re-CO2 H specifically afforded amyloid-like nanofibers. These findings further allowed to achieve the fibrillation of a longer metal sequence containing three different metals (Fmoc-Rh-Pt-Re-Re-CO2 H). Cyclic voltammetry of the fibrillated Fmoc-Re-Re-CO2 H demonstrated that the redox activity of the metal complexes in the sequence is preserved in the nanofibrous forms.

The multistate redox-active/multi-interactive ligand 5,5',8,8'-tetra(4-pyridyl)-2,2'-(1,4-phenylene)bis-1H-perimidine (H2 TPP) was designed and synthesized. H2 TPP undergoes four one-electron oxidation steps, and was used for the preparation of a multistate redox-active coordination network in a solid-liquid interface reaction using molten Cd2+ salts. The multiple redox states of H2 TPP were confirmed spectroscopically by stepwise four-electron oxidation. Spectroscopic analysis indicated that the mixed-valence states of the ligand are class II on the UV/Vis/NIR timescale and borderline class II/class III on the ESR timescale.

An iron(III) complex having a dibenzotetraethyltetraamido macrocyclic ligand (DTTM4–), (NEt4)2[FeIII(DTTM)Cl] (1), was synthesized and characterized by crystallographic, spectroscopic, and electrochemical methods. Complex 1 has a square-pyramidal structure in the S = 3/2 spin state. The complex exhibited two reversible redox waves at +0.36 and +0.68 V (vs SCE) in the cyclic voltammogram measured in CH2Cl2 at room temperature. The stepwise oxidation of 1 using chemical oxidants allowed us to observe clear and distinct spectral changes with distinct isosbestic points for each step, in which oxidation occurred at the phenylenediamido moiety rather than the iron center. One-electron oxidation of 1 by 1 equiv of [RuIII(bpy)3](ClO4)3 (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) in CH2Cl2 afforded square-pyramidal (NEt4)[Fe(DTTM)Cl] (2), which was in the S = 1 spin state involving a ligand radical and showed a slightly distorted square-pyramidal structure. Complex 2 showed an intervalence charge-transfer band at 900 nm, which was as...

A C70 fragment (1) (C28H14) was synthesized by conversion of a C60 fragment sumanene, via ring expansion and annulation in 3 steps, the key step being the Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement of a five-membered ring to a six-membered one. Both theoretical and experimental investigations exhibited the shallower bowl structure of 1, resulting in the lower bowl inversion barrier than sumanene. It was also revealed that the indenopyrene skeleton largely contributed to the physical properties of 1.

By changing the rate of evaporation, two kinds of crystalline films composed of redox-active porous coordination networks (1 and 2) were selectively prepared on a gold-patterned substrate using a DMF solution of 2,5,8-tri(4-pyridyl)1,3-diazaphenalene and Cd(NO3)2. We found the highly sensitive humidity sensing ability of film 1. Single crystal structures and infrared spectroscopic analyses before and after hydration of a single crystal of 1 revealed the sensing mechanism: exchange of nitrate ions with water on Cd atoms occurred in hydrated conditions to generate a conductive cationic network.

Chiral supramolecular structures are attracting great attention due to their specific properties and high potential in chiral sensing and separation. Herein, supramolecular assembling behaviors of chiral perylene diimides have been systematically investigated in a mixed solution of tetrahydrofuran and water. They exhibit remarkably different morphologies and chiral aggregation behaviors depending on the mixing ratio of the solvents, i.e., the fraction of water. The morphogenesis and optoelectronic properties of chiral supramolecular structures have been thoroughly studied using a range of experimental and theoretical methods to investigate the morphological effects of chiral supramolecular assemblies on the electrical performances and photogenerated charge-carrier behaviors. In addition, chiral perylene diimides have been discriminated by combining vibrational circular dichroism with theoretical calculations, for the first time. The chiral supramolecular nanostructures developed herein strongly absorb visible spectral region and exhibit high photoresponsivity and detectivity, opening up new opportunities for practical applications in optoelectronics.

The amorphous state plays a key role in porous coordination polymer and metal-organic framework phase transitions. We investigate a crystalline-to-amorphous-to-amorphous-to-crystalline (CAAC) phase transition in a Zn based coordination polymer, by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. We show that the system shows two distinct amorphous phases upon heating. The first involves a reversible transition to a desolvated form of the original network, followed by an irreversible transition to an intermediate phase which has elongated Zn-I bonds.

[3]Cyclo-1,8-carbazolylene was found to undergo oxidative rearrangement by oxidation with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone, giving a 9a-substituted carbazol-1-one derivative. This is the fir...

A multistate redox-active coordination network was prepared by stepwise synthesis via mechanochemical reaction to overcome the low solubility of ligands. Solid-state grinding between sparingly solu...

An anionic π molecule can form an aggregate when a multi-interactivity is introduced, in sharp contrast to common anionic molecules that are generally difficult to stack on each other. We found that a multi-interactive ligand, 2,5,8-tri(4'-pyridyl)-1,3,4,6,7,9-hexaazaphenalenate (TPHAP- ) exhibited a large Stokes shift and an intramolecular charge transfer, both of which were sensitive to hydrogen-bonding media. An anionic potassium salt of TPHAP- in methanol formed various aggregation states depending on the concentration examined; this was revealed by steady-state spectroscopic and fluorescence lifetime measurements. Self-assembling cadmium ions and the ligands can create several morphological crystals that are controlled by the ligand concentration, among which three new structures were determined by single-crystal analysis. The X-ray structures obtained suggest that the aggregation states of the ligand in solution can be transferred to the solid system of the porous coordination networks.