Graphene Supported Rhodium Nanoparticles for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Current research on catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is based on obtaining higher catalytic activity than platinum particle catalysts on porous carbon. In search of a more sustainable catalyst other than platinum for the catalytic conversion of water to hydrogen gas, a series of nanoparticles of transition metals viz., Rh, Co, Fe, Pt and their composites with functionalized graphene such as RhNPs@f-graphene, CoNPs@f-graphene, PtNPs@f-graphene were synthesized and characterized by SEM and TEM techniques.

Preparation of Iron-Sulfur Cubane Nanoclusters and Their Immobilization on Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes.

With large surface area and versatile electronic behaviour, the composites of Fe₄S₄(SRS)₄ nanoclusters and functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs), are expected to catalyze the conversion of protons to hydrogen gas at lower electro-potentials with higher output than a platinum electrode. In search of a non-noble metal based catalytic material, we report for the first time, the isolation of unimolecular iron-sulfur cubane cluster, [Fe₄(-S)₄(mnt)₄], () (mnt = maleonitriledithiolate) as nanocubes (63×85×120 nm) in MeCN-EtOH (MeCN is acetonitrile, while EtOH is ethanol) solvents and bimolecular [NBu₄]₄[Fe₄(-S)₄(mnt)₄] as nanocuboctahedra (120×121×125 nm) in pure EtOH. The cubic shape of the nanocrystal reminds its geometrical relationship with a molecular cube and one of sides of the nanocube and nanocuboctahedron matches at 120 nm.

FeS Cubane Type Cluster Immobilized on a Graphene Support: A High Performance H Evolution Catalysis in Acidic Water.

The development of alternate catalysts that utilize non-precious metal based electrode materials such as the first row transition metal complexes is an important goal for economic fuel cell design. In this direction, a new FeS cubane type cluster, [PPh][FeS(DMET)] (1) (DMET = cis-1,2-dicarbomethoxyethylene dithiolate) and its composite with functionalized graphene, (1@graphene) have been synthesized and characterized. The presence of nanocrystalline structures on graphene matrix in TEM and SEM images of 1@graphene indicate that the cluster (1) has been immobilized.

Water-induced formation, characterization, and photoluminescence of carbon nanotube-based composites of gadolinium(III) and platinum(II) dithiolenes.

Understanding the nature of interactions of targeted drug-delivery vehicles, such as functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) and their composites, with a cell or its organelles or DNA, where water is a major constituent, requires molecular-level understanding of f-CNTs with analogous chemical systems. The nature of interaction has not yet been explored within the scope of formation of giant aggregates by self-assembly processes. Crystals of platinum(II) dithiolene [Pt(mnt)2 ][PPh4 ]2 (1) and gadolinium(III) dithiolene [Gd(mnt)3 ][PPh4 ]3 (2) (mnt=maleonitrile dithiolate) form nanospheres (diameter 88 nm) and nanoflowers (400-600 nm) in acetonitrile/water and DMF/water solvent mixtures, respectively.

Super reduced Fe4S4 cluster of Balch's dithiolene series.

A super reduced Fe(4)S(4) cluster with a sulfur based radical, [NBu(4)](4)[Fe(3)(III)Fe(II)(μ(3)-S)(4)(mnt)(3)(6-)(mnt)(1-)˙](4-)˙, (1) (mnt, maleonitrile dithiolate) which evolves H(2)S gas on treatment with acid under ambient conditions has been synthesized and structurally characterized. The Fe-S distances in 1 are in the range 2.246-2.

Dangling thiyl radical: stabilized in [PPh4]2[(bdt)W(VI)(O)(μ-S)2Cu(I)(SC6H4S•)].

The synthesis, crystal structure, and spectroscopic characterization of [PPh(4)](2)[(bdt)W(O)(S(2))Cu(SC(6)H(4)S(•))] (3; bdt = benzenedithiolate) relevant to the active site of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase are presented. Curiously, in 3, the copper(I) benzenemonothiolate subcenter possesses a dangling thiyl radical that is stabilized by a disulfido-bridged oxo tungsten dithiolene core. The benzenedithiolate ligand, which is generally bidentate in nature, acts as a bidentate and also as a monodentate in 3.

Photocytotoxic lanthanum(III) and gadolinium(III) complexes of phenanthroline bases showing light-induced DNA cleavage activity.

Lanthanide complexes of formulation [La(B)(2)(NO(3))(3)] (1-3) and [Gd(B)(2)(NO(3))(3)] (4-6), where B is a N,N-donor phenanthroline base, namely, 1,10-phenanthroline (phen in 1, 4), dipyrido[3,2-d:2',3'-f]quinoxaline (dpq in 2, 5) and dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (dppz in 3, 6), have been prepared, characterized from physicochemical data, and their photoinduced DNA and protein cleavage activity studied. The photocytotoxicity of the dppz complexes 3 and 6 has been studied using HeLa cancer cells. The complexes exhibit ligand centered bands in the UV region.

Iron(III) Schiff base complexes of arginine and lysine as netropsin mimics showing AT-selective DNA binding and photonuclease activity.

Iron(III) complexes [Fe(L)(2)]Cl (1-3), where L is monoanionic N-salicylidene-arginine (sal-argH for 1), hydroxynaphthylidene-arginine (nap-argH for 2) and N-salicylidene-lysine (sal-lysH for 3), were prepared and their DNA binding and photo-induced DNA cleavage activity studied. Complex 3 as its hexafluorophosphate salt [Fe(sal-lysH)(2)](PF(6)).6H(2)O (3a) was structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography.

The electronic structure of the isoelectronic, square-planar complexes [FeII(L)2]2- and [CoIII(L Bu)2]- (L2- and (L Bu)2-=benzene-1,2-dithiolates): an experimental and density functional theoretical study.

The electronic structures of two formally isoelectronic transition-metal dithiolato complexes [Fe(L)2]2- (1) and [Co(L Bu)2]1- (2) both possessing a spin triplet ground state (St=1) have been investigated by various spectroscopic and density functional methods; H2L Bu represents the pro-ligand 3,5-di-tert-butylbenzene-1,2-dithiol and H2L is the corresponding unsubstituted benzene-1,2-dithiol. An axial zero-field splitting (D) of +32 cm(-1) for 2 has been measured independently by SQUID magnetometry, far-infrared absorption, and variable-temperature and variable-field (VTVH) magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopies. A similar D value of +28 cm(-1) is obtained for 1 on the basis of VTVH SQUID measurements.

Molecular and electronic structures of iron(II)/(III) complexes containing N,S-coordinated, closed-shell o-aminothiophenolato(1-) and o-iminothiophenolato(2-) ligands.

The coordination chemistry of the ligands o-aminothiophenol, H(abt), 4,6-di-tert-butyl-2-aminothiophenol, H[L(AP)], and 1,2-ethanediamine-N,N'-bis(2-benzenethiol), H(4)('N(2)S(2')), with FeCl(2) under strictly anaerobic and increasingly aerobic conditions has been systematically investigated. Using strictly anaerobic conditions, the neutral, air-sensitive, yellow complexes (mu-S,S)[Fe(II)(abt)(2)](2) (1), (mu-S,S)[Fe(II)(L(AP))(2)](2).8CH(3)OH (2), and (mu-S,S)[Fe(II)('H(2)N(2)S(2'))](2).