It is sometimes profitable to measure the longitudinal nuclear spin polarization of He. The method described here takes advantage of the vaporized alkali metal already present in a glass target cell. Long range and short range interactions with polarized He gas result in an “effective” magnetic field felt by the alkali metal atoms. A precisely detectable Zeeman shift in the alkali EPR frequency...

The iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase has unprecedented coordination chemistry, including a high-spin iron cluster called the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco). Thus, understanding the mechanism of nitrogenase challenges coordination chemists to understand the fundamental N2 chemistry of high-spin iron sites. This Account summarizes a series of studies in which we have synthesized a numbe...

The complexation of alkali metal ions with amphiphilic fullerene derivatives has been investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry. The formation of analyte ions occurs via two competing mechanisms including electron transfer from matrix-derived ions and metal ion attachment. The interplay of these processes has been examined by lase...

Naturally occurring amino acids were identified as efficient co-catalysts for the alkali metal halide-mediated synthesis of cyclic carbonates from carbon dioxide and epoxides under mild, solvent free reaction conditions. The binary system of histidine/potassium iodide gave an appreciable turnover number of 535 for propylene oxide in 3 h. Detailed studies evaluating a variety of amino acids reve...

A cyclic hexapeptide, cyclo(Pro-Gly-Pro-Gly-Pro-Gly), has been synthesized; its solution conformations were examined by 220-MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The solution structures have been deduced, and shown to vary as a function of solvent polarity. In addition, it has been found that this cyclic peptide binds alkali metal cations. While the predominant conformation of this cycli...

The successful synthesis of terminal lead aryloxides is shown to be dependent upon reaction conditions, including choice of solvent and alkali metal aryloxide precursor.

The hydration of the alkali metal ions in aqueous solution has been studied by large angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) and double difference infrared spectroscopy (DDIR). The structures of the dimethyl sulfoxide solvated alkali metal ions in solution have been determined to support the studies in aqueous solution. The results of the LAXS and DDIR measurements show that the sodium, potassium, rubidi...

Bulky amido ligands are precious in s-block chemistry, since they can implant complementary strong basic and weak nucleophilic properties within compounds. Recent work has shown the pivotal importance of the base structure with enhancement of basicity and extraordinary regioselectivities possible for cyclic alkali metal magnesiates containing mixed n-butyl/amido ligand sets. This work advances ...

The Cover Feature illustrates computational design of experimentally viable MMN3− (M=alkali metal) cluster which reveals the unprecedented formation inter alkali metal M:−→M dative bond. More information can be found in Research Article by Ankur Kanti Guha.