JorisMunninghoff

One ring to rule them all … and in the darkness bind them: A photoresponsive tetracationic macrocycle features a facile three-step synthesis and makes possible the noncovalent binding of a set of guest molecules, including N-oxide and carboxylate derivatives. The guest molecules can be actively released by UV light irradiation in a remote fashion.

[Communication]
Seán T. J. Ryan, Jesús del Barrio, Reynier Suardíaz, Daniel F. Ryan, Edina Rosta, Oren A. Scherman
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., October 28, 2016, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201607693. Read article

The [HAN]^.− radical anion (see scheme, left) is synthesized as a stable potassium salt and transferred intact to Co^II. The resulting complex anion [{(HAN){Co(N′′)₂}₃]⁻ is a rare radical-bridged trimetallic complex, with very strong antiferromagnetic exchange between the Co^II ions and the non-innocent ligand.

[Communication]
Jani O. Moilanen, Nicholas F. Chilton, Benjamin M. Day, Thomas Pugh, Richard A. Layfield
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., March 21, 2016, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201600694. Read article

Nature Chemistry. doi:10.1038/nchem.2438

Authors: Bruno Schuler, Shadi Fatayer, Fabian Mohn, Nikolaj Moll, Niko Pavliček, Gerhard Meyer, Diego Peña & Leo Gross

The Bergman cyclization is a fascinating rearrangement reaction with implications beyond organic chemistry. It has now been shown that a reversible Bergman cyclization reaction in a single molecule sitting on an ultrathin NaCl film can be triggered and directly imaged using atomic force microscopy. The interconverted diradical and diyne products are shown to have distinct chemical and physical properties.

Nature Nanotechnology 10, 1039 (2015). doi:10.1038/nnano.2015.218

Authors: Christian Hanneken, Fabian Otte, André Kubetzka, Bertrand Dupé, Niklas Romming, Kirsten von Bergmann, Roland Wiesendanger & Stefan Heinze

Magnetic skyrmions are localized non-collinear spin textures with a high potential for future spintronic applications. Skyrmion phases have been discovered in a number of materials and a focus of current research is to prepare, detect and manipulate individual skyrmions for implementation in devices. The local experimental characterization of skyrmions has been performed by, for example, Lorentz microscopy or atomic-scale tunnel magnetoresistance measurements using spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy. Here we report a drastic change of the differential tunnel conductance for magnetic skyrmions that arises from their non-collinearity: mixing between the spin channels locally alters the electronic structure, which makes a skyrmion electronically distinct from its ferromagnetic environment. We propose this tunnelling non-collinear magnetoresistance as a reliable all-electrical detection scheme for skyrmions with an easy implementation into device architectures.

Nature Nanotechnology 10, 1008 (2015). doi:10.1038/nnano.2015.226

Author: Theodore L. Monchesky

An electrical read-out mechanism for magnetic skyrmions that does not require spin-polarized currents could facilitate the use of these small magnetic states in memory devices.

DNA base pairing is used to produce hydrogen-bonded macrocycles whose supramolecular structure can be transferred from solution to a solid substrate. A hierarchical assembly process ultimately leads to two-dimensional nanostructured porous networks that are able to host size-complementary guests.

[Communication]
Nerea Bilbao, Iris Destoop, Steven De Feyter, David González-Rodríguez
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., November 24, 2015, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201509233. Read article

With scorpionate ligands finding their way into organonickel chemistry, the state of the art of present-day nickel(IV) chemistry is highlighted. Will rapid C-X coupling reactions emerge as a domain of higher-oxidation-state nickel chemistry?

[Highlight]
Raja Mitra, Klaus-Richard Pörschke
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., June 1, 2015, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201504065. Read article.

Huihui Kong, Likun Wang, Qiang Sun, Chi Zhang, Dr. Qinggang Tan and Prof. Dr. Wei Xu

Lateral STM manipulations enable the controllable scission of a complicated metal–organic cluster consisting of nickel atoms and uracil molecules (see Scheme, left) into its elementary structural motifs (right). Furthermore, the elementary units can be seamlessly stitched back together into the original cluster. STM=scanning tunneling microscopy.

Read more now

Dead meat: Chemiresistive detectors for amines were created from single-walled carbon nanotubes by noncovalent modification with Co meso-arylporphyrins. The devices demonstrated sub-ppm sensitivity and high selectivity toward amines. The use of the detectors to monitor meat spoilage was also demonstrated. −ΔG/G₀=change in conductance upon exposure to meat.

[Communication]
Sophie F. Liu, Alexander R. Petty, Graham T. Sazama, Timothy M. Swager
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., April 13, 2015, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201501434. Read article.