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    Charge transfer characteristics of F6TCNNQ–gold interface
    (Chichester [u.a.] : Wiley, 2020) Kuhrt, Robert; Hantusch, Martin; Knupfer, Martin; Büchner, Bernd
    The metal–organic interface between polycrystalline gold and hexafluorotetracyanonaphthoquinodimethane (F6TCNNQ) was investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy with the focus on the charge transfer characteristics from the metal to the molecule. The valence levels, as well as the core levels of the heterojunction, indicate a full electron transfer and a change in the chemical environment. The changes are observed in the first F6TCNNQ layers, whereas for further film growth, only neutral F6TCNNQ molecules could be detected. New occupied states below the Fermi level were observed in the valence levels, indicating a lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) occupation due to the charge transfer. A fitting of the spectra reveals the presence of a neutral and a charged F6TCNNQ molecules, but no further species were present.
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    Carbon cage isomers and magnetic Dy⋯Dy interactions in Dy2O@C88 and Dy2C2@C88 metallofullerenes
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2022) Yang, Wei; Velkos, Georgios; Sudarkova, Svetlana; Büchner, Bernd; Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Liu, Fupin; Popov, Alexey A.; Chen, Ning
    Three isomers of Dy2O@C88 and two isomers of Dy2C2@C88 were synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, and DFT calculations. Both types of clusterfullerenes feature 4-fold electron transfer to the carbon cage, thus resulting in the same carbon cage isomers identified as C1(26), Cs(32), and D2(35). The studies of Dy⋯Dy superexchange interactions in Dy2O and Dy2C2 clusters revealed that the O2− bridge favors antiferromagnetic coupling whereas the acetylide group C22− supports ferromagnetic coupling of Dy magnetic moments. The strength of the coupling showed a considerable variability in different cage isomers. All metallofullerenes exhibited slow relaxation of magnetization and magnetic hysteresis. In Dy2O@C88 isomers the hysteresis remained open up to 7-9 K, while in Dy2C2@C88 the hysteresis loops were closed already at 2.5 K. This study demonstrated that both the endohedral bridge between metal atoms and the fullerene cage play an important role in magnetic interactions and relaxation of magnetization.
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    Facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of a zinc oxide/curcumin nanocomposite with enhanced toxic activity against breast cancer cells
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2023) Madeo, Lorenzo Francesco; Schirmer, Christine; Cirillo, Giuseppe; Froeschke, Samuel; Hantusch, Martin; Curcio, Manuela; Nicoletta, Fiore Pasquale; Büchner, Bernd; Mertig, Michael; Hampel, Silke
    Zinc oxide/Curcumin (Zn(CUR)O) nanocomposites were prepared via hydrothermal treatment of Zn(NO3)2 in the presence of hexamethylenetetramine as a stabilizing agent and CUR as a bioactive element. Three ZnO : CUR ratios were investigated, namely 57 : 43 (Zn(CUR)O-A), 60 : 40 (Zn(CUR)O-B) and 81 : 19 (Zn(CUR)O-C), as assessed by thermogravimetric analyses, with an average hydrodynamic diameter of nanoaggregates in the range of 223 to 361 nm. The interaction of CUR with ZnO via hydroxyl and ketoenol groups (as proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses) was found to significantly modify the key properties of ZnO nanoparticles with the obtainment of a bilobed shape (as shown by scanning electron microscopy), and influenced the growth process of the composite nanoparticles as indicated by the varying particle sizes determined by powder X-ray diffraction. The efficacy of Zn(CUR)O as anticancer agents was evaluated on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, obtaining a synergistic activity with a cell viability depending on the CUR amount within the nanocomposite. Finally, the determination of reactive oxygen species production in the presence of Zn(CUR)O was used as a preliminary evaluation of the mechanism of action of the nanocomposites.
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    Magnetic hysteresis and strong ferromagnetic coupling of sulfur-bridged Dy ions in clusterfullerene Dy2S@C82
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2020) Krylov, Denis; Velkos, Georgios; Chen, Chia-Hsiang; Büchner, Bernd; Kostanyan, Aram; Greber, Thomas; Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Popov, Alexey A.
    Two isomers of metallofullerene Dy2S@C82 with sulfur-bridged Dy ions exhibit broad magnetic hysteresis with sharp steps at sub-Kelvin temperature. Analysis of the level crossing events for different orientations of a magnetic field showed that even in powder samples, the hysteresis steps caused by quantum tunneling of magnetization can provide precise information on the strength of intramolecular Dy⋯Dy interactions. A comparison of different methods to determine the energy difference between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states showed that sub-Kelvin hysteresis gives the most robust and reliable values. The ground state in Dy2S@C82 has ferromagnetic coupling of Dy magnetic moments, whereas the state with antiferromagnetic coupling in Cs and C3v cage isomers is 10.7 and 5.1 cm-1 higher, respectively. The value for the Cs isomer is among the highest found in metallofullerenes and is considerably larger than that reported in non-fullerene dinuclear molecular magnets. Magnetization relaxation times measured in zero magnetic field at sub-Kelvin temperatures tend to level off near 900 and 3200 s in Cs and C3v isomers. These times correspond to the quantum tunneling relaxation mechanism, in which the whole magnetic moment of the Dy2S@C82 molecule flips at once as a single entity. © the Partner Organisations.
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    Using internal strain and mass to modulate Dy⋯Dy coupling and relaxation of magnetization in heterobimetallic metallofullerenes DyM2N@C80 and Dy2MN@C80 (M = Sc, Y, La, Lu)
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2022) Hao, Yajuan; Velkos, Georgios; Schiemenz, Sandra; Rosenkranz, Marco; Wang, Yaofeng; Büchner, Bernd; Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Popov, Alexey A.; Liu, Fupin
    Endohedral clusters inside metallofullerenes experience considerable inner strain when the size of the hosting cage is comparably small. This strain can be tuned in mixed-metal metallofullerenes by combining metals of different sizes. Here we demonstrate that the internal strain and mass can be used as variables to control Dy⋯Dy coupling and relaxation of magnetization in Dy-metallofullerenes. Mixed-metal nitride clusterfullerenes DyxY3−xN@Ih-C80 (x = 0-3) and Dy2LaN@Ih-C80 combining Dy with diamagnetic rare-earth elements, Y and La, were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, SQUID magnetometry, ab initio calculations, and spectroscopic techniques. DyxY3−xN clusters showed a planar structure, but the slightly larger size of Dy3+ in comparison with that of Y3+ resulted in increased elongation of the nitrogen thermal ellipsoid, showing enhancement of the out-of-plane vibrational amplitude. When Dy was combined with larger La, the Dy2LaN cluster appeared strongly pyramidal with the distance between two nitrogen sites of 1.15(1) Å, whereas DyLa2N@C80 could not be obtained in a separable yield. Magnetic studies revealed that the relaxation of magnetization and blocking temperature of magnetization in the DyM2N@C80 series (M = Sc, Y, Lu) correlated with the mass of M, with DySc2N@C80 showing the fastest and DyLu2N@C80 the slowest relaxation. Ab initio calculations predicted very similar g-tensors for Dy3+ ground state pseudospin in all studied DyM2N@C80 molecules, suggesting that the variation in relaxation is caused by different vibrational spectra of these compounds. In the Dy2MN@C80 series (M = Sc, Y, La, Lu), the magnetic and hysteretic behavior was found to correlate with Dy⋯Dy coupling, which in turn appears to depend on the size of M3+. Across the Dy2MN@C80 series, the energy difference between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states changes from 5.6 cm−1 in Dy2ScN@C80 to 3.0 cm−1 in Dy2LuN@C80, 1.0 cm−1 in Dy2YN@C80, and −0.8 cm−1 in Dy2LaN@C80. The coupling of Dy ions suppresses the zero-field quantum tunnelling of magnetization but opens new relaxation channels, making the relaxation rate dependent on the coupling strengths. DyY2N@C80 and Dy2YN@C80 were found to be non-luminescent, while the luminescence reported for DyY2N@C80 was caused by traces of Y3N@C80 and Y2ScN@C80
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    Synthesis and charge transfer characteristics of a ruthenium–acetylide complex
    (London : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020) Kuhrt, Robert; Ho, Po-Yuen; Hantusch, Martin; Lissel, Franziska; Blacque, Olivier; Knupfer, Martin; Büchner, Bernd
    A novel ruthenium–acetylide complex was synthesised and characterised in solid state and solution. Thin films of the complex were evaporated on silver and gold foils in ultra high vacuum in order to probe the electronic properties with photoemission spectroscopy. The charge transfer characteristics of the complex with the strong acceptor F6TCNNQ were investigated by UV-vis absorption in solution as well as at an interface with photoemission spectroscopy. A new excitation in the former optical gap of the pristine materials was probed in solution. Moreover, it was possible to identify the oxidised complex as well as the reduced acceptor by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. In particular, our data reveal that oxidation of the complex mainly occurs at the Ru centre. The charge transfer can be characterised as localised and mainly ionic although signs of a reaction of the acceptors aminogroups with the ruthenium–acetylide complex were found.
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    Robust Single Molecule Magnet Monolayers on Graphene and Graphite with Magnetic Hysteresis up to 28 K
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Spree, Lukas; Liu, Fupin; Neu, Volker; Rosenkranz, Marco; Velkos, Georgios; Wang, Yaofeng; Schiemenz, Sandra; Dreiser, Jan; Gargiani, Pierluigi; Valvidares, Manuel; Chen, Chia-Hsiang; Büchner, Bernd; Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Popov, Alexey A.
    The chemical functionalization of fullerene single molecule magnet Tb2@C80(CH2Ph) enables the facile preparation of robust monolayers on graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite from solution without impairing their magnetic properties. Monolayers of endohedral fullerene functionalized with pyrene exhibit magnetic bistability up to a temperature of 28 K. The use of pyrene terminated linker molecules opens the way to devise integration of spin carrying units encapsulated by fullerene cages on graphitic substrates, be it single-molecule magnets or qubit candidates. © 2021 The Authors. Advanced Functional Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    Substrate-Independent Magnetic Bistability in Monolayers of the Single-Molecule Magnet Dy2ScN@C80 on Metals and Insulators
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Krylov, Denis S.; Schimmel, Sebastian; Dubrovin, Vasilii; Liu, Fupin; Nguyen, T.T. Nhung; Spree, Lukas; Chen, Chia-Hsiang; Velkos, Georgios; Bulbucan, Claudiu; Westerström, Rasmus; Studniarek, Michał; Dreiser, Jan; Hess, Christian; Büchner, Bernd; Avdoshenko, Stanislav M.; Popov, Alexey A.
    Magnetic hysteresis is demonstrated for monolayers of the single-molecule magnet (SMM) Dy2ScN@C80 deposited on Au(111), Ag(100), and MgO|Ag(100) surfaces by vacuum sublimation. The topography and electronic structure of Dy2ScN@C80 adsorbed on Au(111) were studied by STM. X-ray magnetic CD studies show that the Dy2ScN@C80 monolayers exhibit similarly broad magnetic hysteresis independent on the substrate used, but the orientation of the Dy2ScN cluster depends strongly on the surface. DFT calculations show that the extent of the electronic interaction of the fullerene molecules with the surface is increasing dramatically from MgO to Au(111) and Ag(100). However, the charge redistribution at the fullerene-surface interface is fully absorbed by the carbon cage, leaving the state of the endohedral cluster intact. This Faraday cage effect of the fullerene preserves the magnetic bistability of fullerene-SMMs on conducting substrates and facilitates their application in molecular spintronics. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Crystal Growth of the Quasi-2D Quarternary Compound AgCrP2S6 by Chemical Vapor Transport
    (2021) Selter, Sebastian; Shemerliuk, Yuliia; Büchner, Bernd; Aswartham, Saicharan
    We report optimized crystal growth conditions for the quarternary compound AgCrP2S6 by chemical vapor transport. Compositional and structural characterization of the obtained crystals were carried out by means of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. AgCrP2S6 is structurally closely related to the M2P2S6 family, which contains several compounds that are under investigation as 2D magnets. As-grown crystals exhibit a plate-like, layered morphology as well as a hexagonal habitus. AgCrP2S6 crystallizes in monoclinic symmetry in the space group P2/a (No. 13). The successful growth of large high-quality single crystals paves the way for further investigations of low dimensional magnetism and its anisotropies in the future and may further allow for the manufacturing of few-layer (or even monolayer) samples by exfoliation.
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    TSFZ Growth of Eu-Substituted Large-Size LSCO Crystals
    (Basel : MDPI, 2022) Voloshyna, Olesia; Romaka, Vitaliy V.; Karmakar, Koushik ;Seiro, Silvia; Maljuk, Andrey; Büchner, Bernd
    The travelling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) growth of Eu-substituted LSCO (La1.81−xEuxSr0.19CuO4, with nominal x = 0 ÷ 0.4) single crystals was systematically explored for the first time. The substitution of La with Eu considerably decreased the decomposition temperature. Optimal growth parameters were found to be: oxygen pressure 9.0–9.5 bars; Eu-free CuO-poor solvent (66 mol% CuO) with a molar ratio of La2O3:SrCO3:CuO = 4:4.5:16.5 and growth rate 0.6 mm/hour. The obtained single crystals were characterized with optical polarized microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The solubility of Eu in LSCO appeared to be limited to x~0.36–0.38 under the used conditions. The substitution of La3+ with smaller Eu3+ ions led to a structural transition from tetragonal with space group I4/mmm for La1.81Sr0.19CuO4 (x = 0) to orthorhombic with space group Fmmm for La1.81−xSr0.19EuxCuO4 (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4), and to a substantial shrinking of the c-axis from 13.2446 Å (x = 0.0) to 13.1257 Å (x = 0.4). Such structural changes were accompanied by a dramatic decrease in the superconducting critical temperature, Tc, from 29.5 K for x = 0 to 13.8 K for 0.2. For x ≥ 0.3, no superconductivity was detected down to 4 K.