Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t

Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).

Molecular complexes of low-valent f-elements from lanthanum to californium This review outlines the structure and chemistry of divalent lanthanides and actinides in small molecule systems, focusing on the less accessible diva…

@hbwineinger.bsky.social wrote this review for those interested in low valent f elements #fblockrocks www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Where is this?

Coordination Chemistry and Photoluminescence of Sm(II) Dibenzo-24-crown-8 Complexes Three Sm(II) dibenzo-24-crown-8 (db24c8) complexes were synthesized in anhydrous, air-free conditions via the reaction of SmI2 with db24c8 and tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate ([TBA][BPh4]; where ...

I'm excited to see this one published! Samarium(II) dibenzo-24-crown-8 complexes from solutions of MeCN, THF, and DME.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Isolation of Inner-Sphere Aquo Complexes of Samarium(II) The cis-anti-cis and cis-syn-cis isomers of [Sm(dicyclohexano-18-crown-6)(H2O)2]I2 exhibiting trans water molecules bound to the Sm2+ ion have been isolated and characterized. Sm2+ possesses an electrochemical potential sufficient for water reduction, and thus these complexes add to the recent body of evidence that the oxidation of Sm2+ by water can operate by a mechanism that is not straightforward. These complexes are obtained by the direct addition of stoichiometric amounts of water to solutions of the respective Sm(dicyclohexano-18-crown-6)I2 isomers under an inert atmosphere. The parent complex, Sm(dicyclohexano-18-crown-6)I2, lacking coordinating water molecules can be obtained through rigorous exclusion of water. It was determined that the bulky cyclohexano-substituents deter intramolecular interactions between [Sm(dicyclohexano-18-crown-6)(H2O)2]I2 complexes and slow the oxidization of the metal centers. The extent of the stability of these complexes to the presence of water has been further probed through cyclic voltammetry, where it was found that the redox potential of both isomers of [Sm(dicyclohexano-18-crown-6)(H2O)2]I2 maintains quasi-reversible behavior with a 50,000-fold excess of water to Sm2+ in solution with the cis-syn-cis complex being quasi-reversible at even higher concentrations of water. Solution-phase spectroscopy of these complexes in acetonitrile shows a corresponding hypsochromic shift of the Sm2+ 4f → 5d transition typically observed in the visible region from Sm2+ complexes. The crystalline compounds obtained in this study support solid-state spectroscopic trends observed from other Sm2+ crown-ether complexes containing iodide counterions, wherein the proximity of the iodide ions to the metal center determines whether the complex can exhibit 4f → 4f photoluminescence.

This article was years in the making. Did you think water could coordinate to Sm(II) without being reduced? Well it can. Congratulations Todd! #Chemsky #Bluesci #samarium #rareearths #fblockrocks

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

A comprehensive approach for elucidating the interplay between 4fn+1 and 4fn5d1 configurations in Ln2+ complexes Lanthanides (Ln) are typically found in the +3 oxidation state. However, in recent decades, their chemistry has been expanded to include the less stable +2 oxidation state across the entire series exc...

What an awesome way to start the year!
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Deviation between the Structural Chemistry of Barium and Radium Halides: Synthesis and Characterization of RaX2·H2O and RaX2·2H2O (X– = Cl– and Br–) To develop the structural chemistry of radium, the halide compounds RaX2·H2O and RaX2·2H2O (X– = Cl– and Br–) have been synthesized and characterized and serve as benchmarks for comparisons with more complex compounds in the future. In contrast with historic reports on the structural chemistry of radium, the Ra2+ chlorides differ from their Ba2+ analogues. For MCl2·H2O (M2+ = Ba2+, Ra2+), the variance between the metal coordination environments manifests as a small, local distortion that becomes more apparent in the extended structure. However, differences between RaCl2·2H2O and BaCl2·2H2O are more pronounced with a 10-coordinate Ra2+ cation being observed instead of a nine-coordinate Ba2+ in BaCl2·2H2O. RaBr2·nH2O (n = 1 or 2) are isomorphous with the Ba2+ analogues. Raman spectroscopy was used as an additional probe of these compounds and reveals substantial shifts and different vibrational modes between RaX2·H2O and RaX2·2H2O compared to BaX2·2H2O.

Super happy with this article. Ra-226 makes Cf-249 look cold. There's more radium chemistry to come after the holidays. #Chemsky #bluesci #radium #nuclear #fblockrocks
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Comprehensive Synthesis and Structural Trends in Tetramethyl Diglycolamide (TMDGA) Nitrate Complexes with Lanthanides and Americium Complexes of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl diglycolamide (TMDGA), a hydrophilic diglycolamide (DGA) proposed as an aqueous phase holdback reagent, have been crystallized for the majority of the lanthanide ser...

Diglycolamides are one of the most useful ligands for f-block separations. Really happy with B. Rotermund’s article on these complexes. #bluesci #chemsky #fblockrocks #americium #lanthanides #rareearths #nuclear

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

And working in your labs, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take...

OUR DCM!
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