Magnetic circular dichroism transition metals

Not mentioned in Table 2 (and often not in the original papers ) is the optical form (chirality) of the amino acids used. All the amino acids, except for glycine (R = H), contain an asymmetric carbon atom (the C atom). In the majority of cases the optical form used, whether l, d or racemic dl, makes little difference to the stability constants, but there are some notable exceptions (vide infra). Examination of the data in Table 2 reveals (i) that the order of stability constants for the divalent transition metal ions follows the Irving-Williams series (ii) that for the divalent transition metal ions, with excess amino acid present at neutral pH, the predominant spedes is the neutral chelated M(aa)2 complex (iii) that the species formed reflect the stereochemical preferences of the metal ions, e.g. for Cu 1 a 2 1 complex readily forms but not a 3 1 ligand metal complex (see Volume 5, Chapter 53). Confirmation of the species proposed from analysis of potentiometric data and information on the mode of bonding in solution has involved the use of an impressive array of spectroscopic techniques, e.g. UV/visible, IR, ESR, NMR, CD and MCD (magnetic circular dichroism). 

Keywords Complex EPR Mbssbauer IR Magnetic circular dichroism Nitrogen (II) oxide Nitrosyl NRVS Raman Spectroscopy Transition metal UV-Vis X-ray absorption spectroscopy Iron... 

Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy is a type of electronic spectroscopy, also called the Faraday effect or the Zeeman effect, that can be a particularly useful and effective method for structural analysis. For example, MCD can be used to assign the transitions in the electronic absorption spectrum (UV-visible), with respect to details such as the molecular orbital origins of the transitions. Often, such transitions are not clearly observed in the UV-visible spectra, because they are spin-forbidden and weak, but upon application of the magnetic field, Hq, they can be detected. MCD spectroscopy can also be used to determine not only the spin state for a metal such iron, but also the coordination number at the metal. 

Stohr J and Nakajima R (1997) X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy of transition metal multilayers. Journal de Physique (Paris) IV 7 C2-C47. 

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