Experiments using a mechanically controlled break junction and calculations based on density functional theory demonstrate a new magic ratio rule (MRR) that captures the contribution of connectivity to the electrical conductance of graphene-like aromatic molecules. When one electrode is connected to a site i and the other is connected to a site i' of a particular molecule, we assign the molecule a "magic integer" Mii'. Two molecules with the same aromatic core but different pairs of electrode connection sites (i,i' and j,j', respectively) possess different magic integers Mii' and Mjj'. On the basis of connectivity alone, we predict that when the coupling to electrodes is weak and the Fermi energy of the electrodes lies close to the center of the HOMO-LUMO gap, the ratio of their conductances is equal to (Mii'/Mjj')(2). The MRR is exact for a tight-binding representation of a molecule and a qualitative guide for real molecules.

This Concept article will give a glimpse into chemical design principles for exploiting quantum interference (QI) effects in molecular-scale devices. Direct observation of room temperature QI in single-molecule junctions has stimulated growing interest in fabrication of tailor-made molecular electronic devices. Herein, we outline a new conceptual advance in the scientific understanding and technological know-how necessary to control QI effects in single molecules by chemical modification. We start by discussing QI from a chemical viewpoint and then describe a new magic ratio rule (MRR), which captures a minimal description of connectivity-driven charge transport and provides a useful starting point for chemists to design appropriate molecules for molecular electronics with desired functions. The MRR predicts conductance ratios, which are solely determined by QI within the core of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The manifestations of QI and related quantum circuit rules for materials discovery are direct consequences of the key concepts of weak coupling, locality, connectivity, mid-gap transport and phase coherence in single-molecule junctions.

Electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) systems have been studied extensively. Among them, fused D-A systems have attracted much attention during the past decades. Herein, we will present the evolution of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) fused D-A systems and their potential applications in areas such as solar cells, OFETs, molecular wires and optoelectronics just to name a few. The synthesis and electrochemical, photophysical and intrinsic properties of fused D-A systems will be described as well.

In this article, we present a new microscopic theoretical approach to the description of spin crossover in molecular crystals. The spin crossover crystals under consideration are composed of molecular fragments formed by the spin-crossover metal ion and its nearest ligand surrounding and exhibiting well defined localized (molecular) vibrations. As distinguished from the previous models of this phenomenon, the developed approach takes into account the interaction of spin-crossover ions not only with the phonons but also a strong coupling of the electronic shells with molecular modes. This leads to an effective coupling of the local modes with phonons which is shown to be responsible for the cooperative spin transition accompanied by the structural reorganization. The transition is characterized by the two order parameters representing the mean values of the products of electronic diagonal matrices and the coordinates of the local modes for the high- and low-spin states of the spin crossover complex. Finally, we demonstrate that the approach provides a reasonable explanation of the observed spin transition in the [Fe(ptz)6](BF4)2 crystal. The theory well reproduces the observed abrupt low-spin → high-spin transition and the temperature dependence of the high-spin fraction in a wide temperature range as well as the pronounced hysteresis loop. At the same time within the limiting approximations adopted in the developed model, the evaluated high-spin fraction vs. T shows that the cooperative spin-lattice transition proves to be incomplete in the sense that the high-spin fraction does not reach its maximum value at high temperature.

A set of nickel­(II) Cp complexes with triazolylidenes containing various different wingtip groups (aryl, alkyl, pyridyl, CH2OH) have been synthesized by direct metalation of the corresponding triazolium salt with nickelocene. Distinct effects of the substituents on electronic and steric properties of the formed complexes are demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal structural analysis, as well as by the catalytic activity of the complexes in the hydrosilylation of aldehydes. While all complexes display appreciable catalytic performance, the cyclometalated pyridyl-functionalized triazolylidene nickel complex 2e is highly active and reaches turnover frequencies of >20 000 h–1 with good catalyst stability (full conversion at 0.05 mol % catalyst, maximum turnovers of ∼6000). A variety of functional groups on the benzaldehyde are tolerated. Ketones are not converted, which identifies complex 2e as a highly selective precatalyst for the hydrosilylation of aldehydes in the presence of ketones.