According to the controversial China—Raw Materials and China—Rare Earths decisions, China is prohibited from using export duties to address any environmental problems, including those associated... Show moreAccording to the controversial China—Raw Materials and China—Rare Earths decisions, China is prohibited from using export duties to address any environmental problems, including those associated with climate change. This is unfortunate because a number of climate studies have suggested that export duties can be useful to tackle carbon leakage in China, being the largest emitter and exporter of carbon dioxide emissions.This thesis argues that there is a need to consider ‘greening’ the absolute ban on China’s export duties. It accordingly proposes that, export duties - solely restricting exports - should be prohibited outright, while ‘export duties plus’ – restricting both exports and domestic consumption - should be allowed in pursuit of environmental advantages. There are three most feasible ways to achieve this balanced outcome: (i) a waiver as a stopgap measure, (ii) a Ministerial Decision or Declaration as a more flexible alternative, and (iii) a legal interpretation for the Appellate Body to distinguish between export duties and ‘export duties plus’ as a judicial correction. With regard to the proposed judicial correction, even if the Appellate Body is no longer operational, it remains relevant for the purpose of injecting valuable flexibility into the WTO’s precedent system. Show less
In the last decade, the redox interconversion between metal thiolate and disulfide compounds has been extensively investigated for copper, but not for other transition metal ions. In this... Show moreIn the last decade, the redox interconversion between metal thiolate and disulfide compounds has been extensively investigated for copper, but not for other transition metal ions. In this thesis, our investigations are described of the possibility to extend the metal thiolate/disulfide redox interconversion reactions to cobalt or iron compounds. A number of cobalt(II) disulfide and cobalt(III) thiolate compounds of different ligands and different anions are reported in this thesis. It was revealed that the anion of cobalt(II) salts, the structure of disulfide ligands, and the type of solvent influence the formation of either cobalt(II) disulfide or cobalt(III) thiolate compounds. However, a consistent trend cannot be provided to predict which of the species is generated. An important conclusion of this work is that the cobalt(II) disulfide to cobalt(III) thiolate interconversion reaction might be related to the ligand field strength of the ligand, and the binding strength and ligand field strength of the anions and solvent used. Apart from the cobalt compounds, two iron(II) disulfide compounds were reported in this thesis as well. However, so far we were not able to trigger the conversion of these compounds to their respective iron(III) thiolate compounds. Show less
A series of mononuclear metal compounds [MII(L1SCH3)Cl2] (M = Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, L1SCH3 = 2-(methylthio)-N,N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)aminoethane) has been synthesized and characterized. The structures... Show moreA series of mononuclear metal compounds [MII(L1SCH3)Cl2] (M = Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, L1SCH3 = 2-(methylthio)-N,N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)aminoethane) has been synthesized and characterized. The structures and spectroscopic properties of these compounds are compared to the related dinuclear compounds [MII2(L1SSL1)Cl4] (M = Co, Cu, Fe), which were obtained from the reactions of disulfide ligand L1SSL1 with the corresponding metal chloride salts (L1SSL1 = di-2-(bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino)-ethyl disulfide). The crystal structures show that the metal centers in the mononuclear compounds [CoII(L1SCH3)Cl2], [CuII(L1SCH3)Cl2] and [MnII(L1SCH3)Cl2] are in trigonal-bipyramidal geometries coordinated by three nitrogen donors of the tetradentate ligand and two chloride ions, with configurations similar to that of metal centers in [CoII2(L1SSL1)Cl4] and [CuII2(L1SSL1)Cl4]. In contrast, the iron(II) center in [FeII(L1SCH3)Cl2] is coordinated by three nitrogen donors and one sulfur atom of the tetradentate ligand and two chloride ions in an octahedral geometry, which is similar to the geometry of one of the Fe(II) centers in the dinuclear compound [FeII2(L1SSL1)Cl4], where two iron(II) centers are in different geometries. UV–vis spectra of the mononuclear compounds are comparable to those of the related dinuclear compounds. Show less
In contrast to cobalt, reaction of ligand L1 SSL1 with [Fe(MeCN)6](BF4)2 did not yield the expected Fe(III) thiolate compound. This work is an unprecedented example of redox interconversion between... Show moreIn contrast to cobalt, reaction of ligand L1 SSL1 with [Fe(MeCN)6](BF4)2 did not yield the expected Fe(III) thiolate compound. This work is an unprecedented example of redox interconversion between a high-spin Co(II) disulfide compound and a low-spin Co(III) thiolate compound triggered by the nature of the anion. Show less
