Dr. Cortlandt Pierpont of the University of Colorado, Boulder is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Program for research on the coordination chemistry of quinonate, semiquinonate and catecholate complexes. Catecholate and semiquinonate chemistry of the platinum metals will be developed, with an emphasis on redox isomers related by shifts in charge distribution between the metal and the quinonate ligands. Polymeric ruthenium-quinonate complexes will be investigated. Pthalocyanine ligands with quinone functionalities conjugated to the ring will be studied. Novel chemistry of molybdenum-catecholate complexes will be considered.
Electrons are highly mobile in many quinonate, semiquinonate, and catecholate complexes of transition-metal ions, giving rise to unusual and unanticipated chemical, physical and electrical properties for those materials. Improved understanding and control of the redistribution of electronic charge within such materials is highly likely to be important in developing materials for use in microscopic electronic devices, as well as in description of critical aspects of the functioning of biological catalysts, and in the invention of improved catalysts for non-biological chemical processes.
