Simon A. Cotton

Simon A. Cotton
University of Birmingham · School of Chemistry

B.Sc.; ARCS; Ph.D.; DIC

About

234
Publications
24,142
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Introduction
Simon A. Cotton currently works at the School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham. Simon does research in Inorganic Chemistry and Organometallic Chemistry, particularly with scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides, as well as iron and cobalt. His most recent publication is 'The Scandium Aqua Ion Revisited'. He also writes on chemistry at a more popular level, for the Conversation blog and for the 'Molecule of the Month' website.

Publications

Publications (234)
Article
Two unique series of lanthanide complexes [Ln(Ph3PO)4(NCS)3] (Ln = La-Tb, except Pm) and [Ln(Ph3PO)3(NCS)3] (Ln = Sm-Lu, Y) have been structurally characterised. The isomorphous series [Ln(Ph3PO)4(NCS)3] crystallises in the monoclinic centrosymmetric space group P21/c, and the metals display a capped octahedral coordination geometry. In contrast, t...
Article
The coordination chemistry of FeCl3 is distinctly different to that of the other 3d metal halides. It has a distinct preference for O-donor ligands. Although it primarily forms six-coordinate complexes, it has some distinctive features that set it apart from metals like Mn(II), Co(II) and Ni(II), such as the self-ionized complexes [FeL4Cl2]⁺ [FeCl4...
Article
Why are some compounds stable while their analogues in a different chemical group are non-existent? The answer lies in thermodynamics and kinetics.
Article
Over the past two decades, a considerable number of X-ray diffraction studies have been carried out on scandium salts in solution and especially in the solid state. Sc-O bond lengths have been determined in the ions [Sc(H2O)n]³⁺ (n = 6, 7 and 8) as well as for a number of compounds containing [(H2O)5Sc(μ-OH)2Sc(H2O)5]⁴⁺ ions. At the same time, seve...
Article
Full-text available
The Molecule of the Month website (http://www.chm.bris.ac.UK/motm/motm.htm) is an educational resource that is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Here we reflect on its pioneering role in promoting new technology for visualizing and presenting chemical information on the web, as well as its achievements, as a free educational resource, both as a tea...
Book
"This new book is by two knowledgeable and expert popularizers of chemistry and deals exclusively with molecules and compounds rather than with the simpler atoms and elements. It is based on the very successful ‘Molecule of the Month’ website that was begun by Paul May fifteen years ago and to which his co-author Simon Cotton has been a frequent co...
Chapter
Lanthanides form a wide (and increasing) variety of alkyl- and arylamides. Most are in the (+3) oxidation state, but simple alkylamides of Sm(II), Eu(II), Yb(II), and Ce(IV) are known. The largest and best characterized group are three coordinate tris(bis(trimethylsilyl)amide) compounds, [Ln(N(SiMe3)2)3], which have unusual pyramidal structures in...
Article
After the discovery of uranium — recognised in 1789 by Klaproth — and thorium (Berzelius, 1828), a considerable period elapsed before actinium (1899) and protactinium (1913) were recognised. For many years they were regarded as a new transition-metal series and placed in groups IIIA–VIA of the Periodic Table. Following the discovery of the transura...
Chapter
As lanthanides are extracted in greater amounts and find further applications, knowledge of the speciation of their labile solution species becomes increasingly important. So far, most effort has been directed to understanding the aqua ions, and particularly the first coordination sphere, using information largely from diffraction studies on crysta...
Chapter
Full-text available
This chapter describes the various ways in which lanthanide elements are biologically active. In medical applications, the magnetic and luminescent properties of the elements provide the means by which tissues can be imaged. These two applications are described with regards to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and bioanalysis (fluoroimmunoassays and...
Article
The new cobalt(II) phosphine oxide complexes Co(Cy3PO)2Cl2 (1), Co(Cy3PO)2Br2 (2), Co(Cy3PO)2I2 (3), Co(Ph2CyPO)2Cl2 (4), Co(Ph2CyPO)2Br2 (5), Co(Ph2CyPO)2I2 (6), Co(Ph2EtPO)2Br2 (7), Co(Cy3PO)2(NCS)2 (8) and Co(Cy3PO)2(NO3)2 (9) have been prepared mainly by the reaction of anhydrous CoX2 (X = Cl, Br, I, NCS, NO3) with the appropriate phosphine oxi...
Article
This chapter reviews the literature reported during 2012 on scandium, yttrium and the lanthanide elements.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
Full-text available
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
This chapter reviews literature reported during 2009 on iron, ruthenium and osmium.
Article
Full-text available
This chapter reviews literature reported during 2009 on titanium, zirconium and hafnium.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
Review: literature of 2011; 116 refs.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
Review: literature overview 2011; 88 refs.
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Chapter
New applications are increasingly found for scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides and their compounds. Among reagents in synthetic organic chemistry, LaNi5 is a versatile hydrogenation catalyst. SmI2 is an important one-electron reducing agent, and lanthanide triflates, Ln(CF3OSO3)3 (Ln = Sc, Y, or lanthanide), are recyclable Lewis acid catalysts,...
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Article
Review: literature overview 2011; 123 refs.
Article
Reaction of hydrated scandium nitrate with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in methanol leads to formation of the unusual dimeric complex [(phen)(NO3)2Sc(μ-OMe)2Sc(NO3)2(phen)], in which the scandium centres are eight co-ordinate. The complex features two bridging methoxy ligands, as well as bidentate nitrates and chelating 1,10-phenanthroline ligands.
Article
Interest in pyridine bis(imine) complexes continues; modification with heteroatoms can lead to higher catalytic activities. There are new three co-ordinate species, this time facilitated by (β-diiminate) ligands. Further developments have taken place in the field of simple cyano/carbonyl complexes of iron, whilst in another move back to basics, int...
Article
Highlights include advances in understanding the structures of cytochrome P450 enzymes and model compounds that can readily metabolise unreactive hydrocarbons; continued activity in simple alkyls, notably three co-ordinate iron(II) alkyls that have been synthesised using a bidentate diketiminate as a supporting ligand; a novel halide ion-templated...
Article
Ruthenium and osmium are the first pair of ‘platinum metals’ [1–13]. They exhibit oxidation states up to +8, the highest observed for any element, as in MO4 (M = Ru, Os) though this requires the use of the most electronegative elements, fluorine and oxygen, for stability. Generally, the +2 and +3 states are the most important, along with +4 for osm...
Article
Evans reports the synthesis of the highly congested [Cp*3Ln] (Ln = Gd, Y), in the most striking of a number of important contributions from his laboratories. Other publications feature the first homoleptic CeIV amide and important clarification of the scandium aqua ion, whilst there is significant interest in 45Sc, 89Y and 139La NMR.
Article
Full-text available
This Chapter reviews the literature reported during 2006 on the actinide and transactinide elements. The principal highlight is the report of the synthesis of three atoms of element 118. Much fine molecular chemistry of uranium has been reported, especially from the laboratories of Ephritkhine and co-workers, whilst Cloke and co-workers have report...
Article
Highlights include a tris(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)uranium(dinitrogen) complex; the characterization of the hitherto shadowy uranyl iodide as the etherate UO2I2(OH2)2·4Et2O; a remarkable uranyl(V) species, [UO2(OPPh3)4](OTf); a detailed analysis of agostic interactions in the pyramidal amides [Ln{(N(SiMe3)2)3}] and alkyls [Ln{(CH(SiMe3)2)3}]; in...
Chapter
IntroductionScandiumCoordination Compounds of ScandiumOrganometallic Compounds of ScandiumYttriumPromethium
Chapter
The lanthanides are a block of elements with atomic numbers 57–71, which exhibit subtle gradations in their chemical properties, since the ionic radii gradually decrease across the series (the ‘lanthanide contraction’). In reactivity, they resemble the group 2 elements, but are much more diverse; although the aqueous chemistry is essentially that o...
Article
The structures are reported of 20 1:1 complexes formed between 2,4,6-tri-α-pyridyl-1,3,5-triazine (tptz) and the nitrates of yttrium and the lanthanoids (La–Lu except Pm). The complexes can be divided up into a series of structural types. The majority of the characterised complexes belong to the isostructural family [Ln(tptz)(NO3)3(H2O)]·2C2H5OH (L...
Article
Many interesting new results have been reported, both from the “usual suspects” (research groups of Evans, Ephritikhine, Lappert, Marks, Parker et al.) and from other groups, notably that of Mayer. Highlights this year include the synthesis of anhydrous uranyl iodide, following last year's report of hydrated uranyl iodide; remarkable addition react...
Article
For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.
Article
This article reviews the development of the understanding of the coordination number in lanthanide complexes, showing how it was realized in the 1960s that lanthanide complexes frequently had much higher coordination numbers than 6, and how it subsequently became possible for chemists to synthesise compounds with coordination numbers as low as 2, 3...
Article
It is again easier to identify areas of activity than to point towards specific advances, with active research dominated by organometallics with a view to catalytic activity; alkoxides, amides and related compounds that can afford thin films of compounds like TiO2; and TiO2 itself. Lesser delights include the identification of the TBPY [ZrCl5]- ani...
Article
Highlights include developments in the area of iron dioxygen and Fe=O linkages; a remarkable air-stable two coordinate iron alkyl; a nickel(IV) norbornyl, again with considerable stability; a stable hydrido tetraamine cobalt(III) complex; continued work on five co-ordinate Fe and Co complexes as olefin oligomerisation catalysts, and more on iron cy...
Article
The complexes [Ln(terpy)2(NCS)3] (Ln=Pr (1), Nd (2); terpy=2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine), [Nd(terpy)2(NCS)3]·2EtOH (3) and [Ln(phen)3(NCS)3]·EtOH (Ln=Pr(4), Nd (5); phen=1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesised in high yield by the reaction of [Ln(NO3)3]·6H2O (Ln=Pr, Nd) with KNCS and subsequently with terpy or phen, respectively. The five complexes ha...
Article
The complexes [M(terpy)(NO3)3·(H2O)] (M=Eu (1), Tb(2); terpy=2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridyl) are isomorphous and crystallise in the triclinic space group P1̄ with Z=2, while the related complex [Eu(bipy)2(NO3)3] (3) (bipy=2,2′-bipyridyl) crystallises in the orthorhombic space group Pcan (non-standard setting of Pbcn) with Z=4 such that the two halves of the...
Article
The structures of Pr(bipy)3(NCS)3, Pr(bipy)2(NO3)3, Pr(bipy)2Cl3(OH2)·EtOH and Pr(bipy)(S2CNEt2)3 are reported. Pr(bipy)3(NCS)3 has a monomeric structure with three N-bonded thiocyanates and three bidentate bipyridyl ligands, giving nine-coordinate praseodymium. Praseodymium is eight-coordinate in Pr(bipy)2Cl3(OH2)·EtOH and in Pr(bipy)(S2CNEt2)3 wh...
Article
The complexes [M(terpy)(NO3)3·(H2O)] (M=Eu (1), Tb(2); terpy=2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridyl) are isomorphous and crystallise in the triclinic space group with Z=2, while the related complex [Eu(bipy)2(NO3)3] (3) (bipy=2,2′-bipyridyl) crystallises in the orthorhombic space group Pcan (non-standard setting of Pbcn) with Z=4 such that the two halves of the mol...
Article
Syntheses and structures of mer-[FeCl3(pyrazole)3] (1), mer-[FeCl3(N-methylimidazole)3] (2), mer-[FeCl3(terpy)] (3) (terpy=2,2′: 6′,2″-terpyridine), mer-[FeCl3(tptz)] (4) (tptz=2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine) and trans-[FeCl2(3-methylpyrazole)4]Cl (5) are reported. The structures demonstrate intramolecular NH⋯Cl; intramolecular CH⋯Cl; and i...
Article
Structural studies show that the solvolysis of a nitrate group in the heavy lanthanide complexes [Ln(terpy)(NO3)3] {Ln = Yb, Lu; terpy = 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine} is stereoselective. In the complexes [Ln(terpy)(NO3)3(EtOH)], the ‘equatorial nitrate group’, which lies in the same plane as the terpy ligand, coordinates in a monodentate fashion and the...
Article
The structures of the Co(OPPh3)2Cl2, Co(OPPh3)2Br2, Co(OPPh3)2I2, Co(OAsPh3)2Br2 and Co(OAsPh3)2(NO3)2 complexes have been determined by X-ray diffraction methods; all have pseudo-tetrahedral co-ordination for cobalt.
Article
Full-text available
The title compound is isomorphous with the La and Lu analogues having three bidentate nitrate and two bipyridyl ligands, giving the metal atom a ten-coordinate bicapped dodecahedral environment. The average Nd—N and Nd—O bond lengths (2.596 and 2.549 Å, respectively) are shorter than the corresponding bonds of the La analogue reflecting the smaller...
Article
Full-text available
It is again easier to identify areas of activity than to point towards specific advances, with active research dominated by organometallics with a view to catalytic activity; alkoxides, amides and related compounds that can afford thin films of compounds like TiO2; and TiO2 itself. Lesser delights include the identification of the TBPY [ZrCl5]− ani...
Data
Full-text available
This paper is published electronically. It meets the data-validation criteria for publication in Acta Crystallographica Section C. The submission has been checked by a Section C Co-editor though the text in the "Comments" section is the responsibility of the authors. Acta Cryst. (2000). C56, e8–e9 John F. Bower et al. ¯ [Nd(NO 3) 3 (C 10 H 8 N 2) 2...
Article
A consideration of the available evidence, drawn largely from X-ray diffraction data on crystalline scandium complexes, as well as aqueous solutions, points strongly to the co-ordination number of Sc in aqueous solution being 7, an exceptional value for this region of the Periodic Table. Whilst the only [Sc(OH2)n]ion isolated from solution has n=9,...
Article
Erbium is nine-coordinate in [Er(terpy)(NO3)3·(C2H5OH)], which contains two bidentate and one monodentate nitrate groups as well as a coordinated ethanol molecule.
Article
Students can be encouraged to develop their factual knowledge by use of puzzles. One strategy described here is the extended wordsearch, where the wordsearch element generates a number of words or phrases from which the answers to a series of questions are selected. The wordsearch can be generated with the aid of computer programs, though in order...
Article
Although the first σ-bonded organolanthanides were not fully characterized for some 20 years after the isolation of the first π-cyclopcntadienyls, a wide range of these compounds is unfolding. The review discusses synthetic routes to the compounds, both with and without “supporting” polyhapto ligands and including the very recent carbenes, explorin...
Chapter
Rhodium and iridium were discovered independently in the same year and also share many resemblances in their chemistry [1–10]. They form a wide range of conventional complexes as well as those of π-bonding ligands. Both metals exhibit an extensive chemistry, principally in the +3 oxidation state, with +1 also being important, and a significant chem...
Chapter
These two metals are superficially the best known of those considered in this book, on account of their use in jewellery and as reserve currency metals, and their use, now passing, in coins. Considered from the chemical point of view, their behaviour is fairly straightforward compared with many of the other 4d and 5d metals. Silver has one particul...
Chapter
Palladium and platinum are the longest known and most studied of the six platinum metals [1–11], a reflection of their abundance and consequent availability. Platinum occurs naturally as the element, generally with small amounts of the other platinum metals. It was used as a silver substitute by Colombian Indians and first observed there by Ulloa (...
Article
Full-text available
All you need to know about a chemical on an A4 sheet.
Article
The postulate of a limiting resonances structure involving low-spin iron(II) and an unpaired electron on a radical ligand for the spin-equilibria iron(III) tris(dithiocarbamates), Fe(S2CNR2)3, is disproved as a result of the observation of a structured line in the g = 2 region of the EPR spectrum of Fe(S2COEt)3, ascribed to an impurity [Fe(NO)(S2CO...
Article
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

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