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Transition-metal complexes are widely used in the physical and biological sciences. They have essential roles in catalysis, synthesis, materials science, photophysics and bioinorganic chemistry. Our understanding of transition-metal complexes originates from Alfred Werner's realization that their three-dimensional shape influences their properties and reactivity.sup.1, and the intrinsic link between shape and electronic structure is now firmly underpinned by molecular-orbital theory.sup.2-5. Despite more than a century of advances in this field, the geometries of transition-metal complexes remain limited to a few well-understood examples. The archetypal geometries of six-coordinate transition metals are octahedral and trigonal prismatic, and although deviations from ideal bond angles and bond lengths are frequent.sup.6, alternative parent geometries are extremely rare.sup.7. The hexagonal planar coordination environment is known, but it is restricted to condensed metallic phases.sup.8, the hexagonal pores of coordination polymers.sup.9, or clusters that contain more than one transition metal in close proximity.sup.10,11. Such a geometry had been considered.sup.12,13 for [Ni(P.sup.tBu).sub.6]; however, an analysis of the molecular orbitals suggested that this complex is best described as a 16-electron species with a trigonal planar geometry.sup.14. Here we report the isolation and structural characterization of a simple coordination complex in which six ligands form bonds with a central transition metal in a hexagonal planar arrangement. The structure contains a central palladium atom surrounded by three hydride and three magnesium-based ligands. This finding has the potential to introduce additional design principles for transition-metal complexes, with implications for several scientific fields. A six-coordinate transition-metal complex with a hexagonal planar geometry is isolated and characterized., Author(s): Martí Garçon [sup.1] , Clare Bakewell [sup.1] , George A. Sackman [sup.2] [sup.3] , Andrew J. P. White [sup.1] , Richard I. Cooper [sup.2] , Alison J. Edwards [sup.3] [...]

Overlapping absorption edges will occur when an element is present in multiple oxidation states within a material. DetOx is a program for partitioning overlapping X-ray absorption spectra into contributions from individual atomic species and computing the dependence of the anomalous scattering factors on X-ray energy. It is demonstrated how these results can be used in combination with X-ray diffraction data to determine the oxidation state of ions at specific sites in a mixed-valance material, GaCl2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A seventh blind test of crystal structure prediction has been organized by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. The results are presented in two parts, with this second part focusing on methods for ranking crystal structures in order of stability. The exercise involved standardized sets of structures seeded from a range of structure generation methods. Participants from 22 groups applied several periodic DFT-D methods, machine learned potentials, force fields derived from empirical data or quantum chemical calculations, and various combinations of the above. In addition, one non-energy-based scoring function was used. Results showed that periodic DFT-D methods overall agreed with experimental data within expected error margins, while one machine learned model, applying system-specific AIMnet potentials, agreed with experiment in many cases demonstrating promise as an efficient alternative to DFT-based methods. For target XXXII, a consensus was reached across periodic DFT methods, with consistently high predicted energies of experimental forms relative to the global minimum (above 4 kJ mol -1 at both low and ambient temperatures) suggesting a more stable polymorph is likely not yet observed. The calculation of free energies at ambient temperatures offered improvement of predictions only in some cases (for targets XXVII and XXXI). Several avenues for future research have been suggested, highlighting the need for greater efficiency considering the vast amounts of resources utilized in many cases., (open access.)

A seventh blind test of crystal structure prediction was organized by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre featuring seven target systems of varying complexity: a silicon and iodine-containing molecule, a copper coordination complex, a near-rigid molecule, a cocrystal, a polymorphic small agrochemical, a highly flexible polymorphic drug candidate, and a polymorphic morpholine salt. In this first of two parts focusing on structure generation methods, many crystal structure prediction (CSP) methods performed well for the small but flexible agrochemical compound, successfully reproducing the experimentally observed crystal structures, while few groups were successful for the systems of higher complexity. A powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) assisted exercise demonstrated the use of CSP in successfully determining a crystal structure from a low-quality PXRD pattern. The use of CSP in the prediction of likely cocrystal stoichiometry was also explored, demonstrating multiple possible approaches. Crystallographic disorder emerged as an important theme throughout the test as both a challenge for analysis and a major achievement where two groups blindly predicted the existence of disorder for the first time. Additionally, large-scale comparisons of the sets of predicted crystal structures also showed that some methods yield sets that largely contain the same crystal structures., (open access.)

The sixth blind test of organic crystal structure prediction (CSP) methods has been held, with five target systems: a small nearly rigid molecule, a polymorphic former drug candidate, a chloride salt hydrate, a co-crystal and a bulky flexible molecule. This blind test has seen substantial growth in the number of participants, with the broad range of prediction methods giving a unique insight into the state of the art in the field. Significant progress has been seen in treating flexible molecules, usage of hierarchical approaches to ranking structures, the application of density-functional approximations, and the establishment of new workflows and `best practices' for performing CSP calculations. All of the targets, apart from a single potentially disordered Z' = 2 polymorph of the drug candidate, were predicted by at least one submission. Despite many remaining challenges, it is clear that CSP methods are becoming more applicable to a wider range of real systems, including salts, hydrates and larger flexible molecules. The results also highlight the potential for CSP calculations to complement and augment experimental studies of organic solid forms.

X-ray crystallographic analysis of the title hydro-bromide salt, C(10)H(20)N(+)·Br(-), of (1R,2S,3R,5R,8aR)-3-hydroxy-meth-yl-5-methyl-octa-hydro-indolizine-1,2-diol defines the absolute and relative stereochemistry at the five chiral centres in steviamine, a new class of polyhydroxy-lated indolizidine alkaloid isolated from Stevia rebaudiana (Asteraceae) leaves. In the crystal structure, mol-ecules are linked by inter-molecular O-H⋯Br and N-H⋯Br hydrogen bonds, forming double chains around the twofold screw axes along the b-axis direction. Intra-molecular O-H⋯O inter-actions occur.