Magnetochemistry, Volume 10, Issue 5 (May 2024) – 4 articles

The development of a catalyst for the conversion of CO₂ and epoxides to the corresponding cyclic carbonates is still a very attractive topic. Magnetic nano-catalysts are widely used in various organic reactions due to their magnetic separation and recycling properties. Here, a magnetic nano-catalyst containing a Schiff base unit was designed, synthesized and used as a heterogeneous catalyst to catalyze CO₂ and epoxides to form cyclic carbonates without solvents and co-catalysts. The catalyst was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG), VSM, SEM, TEM and BET. The results show that the magnetic nano-catalyst containing the Schiff base unit has a high activity in the solvent-free cycloaddition reaction of CO₂ with epoxide under mild conditions, and is easily separated from the reaction mixture driven by external magnetic force. The recovered catalyst maintains a high performance after five cycles. Full article

Octahedral nickel(II) complexes are among the simplest systems that exhibit zero-field splitting by having two unpaired electrons. For the purpose of clarifying the relationship between structure and zero-field splitting in a low-symmetric system, distorted octahedral nickel(II) complexes were prepared with a tetradentate ligand, 2-[bis(2-methoxyethyl)aminomethyl]-4-nitrophenolate(1−) [(onp)⁻]. The complex [Ni(onp)(dmso)(H₂O)][BPh₄]·2dmso (1) (dmso = dimethyl sulfoxide) was characterized as a bulk sample by IR, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, electronic spectra, and magnetic properties. The powder electronic spectral data were analyzed based on the angular overlap model to conclude that the spectra were typical of D₄-symmetric octahedral coordination geometry with a weak axial ligand field. Simultaneous analysis of the temperature-dependent susceptibility and field-dependent magnetization data yielded the positive axial zero-field splitting parameter D (H = g_uβS_uH_u + D[S_z² − S(S + 1)/3]), which was consistent with the weak axial ligand field. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed the crystal structures of [Ni(onp)(dmso)(H₂O)][BPh₄]·dmso (2) and [Ni(onp)(dmf)₂][BPh₄] (3) (dmf = N,N-dimethylformamide). The density functional theory (DFT) computations based on the crystal structures indicated the D₄-symmetric octahedral coordination geometries with weak axial ligand fields. This study also showed the importance of considering g-anisotropy in magnetic analysis, even if g-anisotropy is small. Full article

In this study, a novel green tea/Mg-functionalized magnetic nano-adsorbent, denoted as GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs, was developed and applied to the extraction of Methylene Blue (MB) from water-based solutions. The GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs were synthesized by incorporating green tea extracts (GTE) and Mg species onto the surface of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles using a hydrothermal method. Characterization analyses corroborated the successful functionalization of the Fe₃O₄ surface with GTE and Mg species, resulting in a superparamagnetic adsorbent equipped with abundant surface functional groups, which promoted MB adsorption and facilitated magnetic separation. Batch experiments revealed that different operating parameters had an impact on the adsorption behavior, such as adsorbent dosage, pH, coexisting ions, contact time, the initial MB concentration, and temperature. The investigations of adsorption kinetics and isotherms emphasized that the MB adsorption onto GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs was an exothermic process dominated by chemisorption. The experimental adsorption capacity of GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs for MB surpassed 174.93 mg g⁻¹, markedly superior to the performance of numerous other adsorbents. Ultimately, the utilized GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs could be effectively regenerated through acid pickling, retaining over 76% of its original adsorption capacity after six adsorption–desorption cycles, which suggested that GTE-MgO-Fe₃O₄ NPs was a suitable adsorbent for eliminating MB from effluent. Full article

Effects of varying Mn and Ni concentrations on the structure and piezoresistive properties of CuMnNi films deposited by magnetron sputtering with a segmented target were investigated. An increase in the Ni content refines the CuNi film grains, inducing an increase in defects such as internal micropores and a decrease in film density. At the same time, the positive piezoresistive coefficient of the film changes to negative. When 17.5 at.% Ni was added, the negative piezoresistive coefficient of the CuNi film was −2.0 × 10⁻⁴ GPa⁻¹. The doping of Ni has a weakening effect on the positive piezoresistive effect of the film. Adding Mn into Cu refines the film grains while increasing the film density. The surface roughness of the film decreases with the increase in Mn content. When the Mn content was 16.7 at.%, the piezoresistive coefficient reached the largest recorded value of 23.81 × 10⁻⁴ GPa⁻¹, and the film exhibited excellent repeatability in multiple piezoresistive tests. After the CuMn film with 16.7 at.% Mn was annealed at 400 °C for 2 h, the film grains grew slightly and the film residual stress decreased. The optimization of the film structure can reduce the scattering of electrons during transportation. The piezoresistive coefficient of the film was further improved to 35.78 × 10⁻⁴ GPa⁻¹. Full article