Heteropolytopic arsanylarylthiolato ligands: cis-trans isomerism of nickel(II), palladium(II), and platinum(II) complexes of 1-AsPh2-2-SHC6H4.

Heteropolytopic arsanylthiolato ligands 1-AsPh(2)-2-SHC(6)H(4) (AsSH), PhAs(2-SHC(6)H(4))(2) (AsS(2)H(2)), and As(2-SHC(6)H(4))(3) (AsS(3)H(3)) have been prepared by lithiation-electrophilic substitution procedures. The 2:1 reaction of AsSH with NiCl(2)·6H(2)O, Na(2)[PdCl(4)], and [PtI(2)(cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) in the presence of NEt(3) afforded the square-planar complexes trans-[Ni{(AsS)-κ(2)S,As}(2)] (1), cis-[Pd{(AsS)-κ(2)S,As}(2)] (2), trans-[Pd{(AsS)-κ(2)S,As}(2)] (3), and cis-[Pt{(AsS)-κ(2)S,As}(2)] (4). In the cases of nickel and platinum, only one isomer was isolated.

Heteropolytopic phosphanylarylthiolato ligands: formation of cis isomers of nickel(II), palladium(III) and platinum(III) complexes with 1-P(Biph)-2-SHC6H4 (Biph = 1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-diyl).

Reaction of the ditopic phosphanylarylthiol 1-P(Biph)-2-SHC(6)H(4) (BiphPSH, Biph = 1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-diyl), prepared by lithiation-electrophilic substitution, with NiCl(2)·6H(2)O, Na(2)[PdCl(4)] and [PtI(2)(cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) in a 2:1 ratio and in the presence of NEt(3) led to formation of exclusively cis isomers of the square-planar complexes cis-[M{(1-P(Biph)-2-S-C(6)H(4))-κ(2)S,P}(2)] ([M{(BiphPS)-κ(2)S,P}(2)]; M = Ni (1), Pd (2), Pt (3)). Density functional calculations support the assumption that this is probably due to intramolecular π-π interaction of the biphenyl groups, which results in enhanced stability of the cis isomers. Compound 1 is the first example of a structurally characterised mononuclear cis-bis(phosphanylthiolato)nickel(III) complex.

Endohedral beryllium atoms in ten-vertex germanium clusters: effect of a small interstitial atom on the cluster geometry.

Ten-vertex clusters are unusually versatile because polyhedra with 3-, 4-, and 5-fold symmetry are possible and are found in experimentally known structures. Such clusters therefore provide useful probes for subtle effects on cluster structure such as changing the electron count or introducing an interstitial atom. In this connection, DFT shows that one of the smallest possible interstitial atoms, namely beryllium, has relatively little effect on the structures of Be@Ge(10)(z) (z = +2, 0, -2, -4) clusters.

Theoretical study of structural patterns in CH₂OP₂ isomers.

DFT calculations have been performed on the derivatives of formula CH₂OP₂ to determine their total energy, the relative energy between the isomers and their geometry. Among compounds with a P-C-P linkage, the most stable one is the 2-hydroxy-1,2-diphosphirene II.1, a three-membered heterocycle with a P=C unsaturation.

Computational investigation of the histidine ammonia-lyase reaction: a modified loop conformation and the role of the zinc(II) ion.

Possible reaction intermediates of the histidine ammonia-lyase (HAL) reaction were investigated within the tightly closed active site of HAL from Pseudomonas putida (PpHAL). The closed structure of PpHAL was derived from the crystal structure of PpHAL inhibited with L-cysteine, in which the 39-80 loop including the catalytically essential Tyr53 was replaced. This modified loop with closed conformation was modeled using the structure of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from Anabaena variabilis (AvPAL) with a tightly closed active site as a template.