This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports the research of Professor Janet Braddock-Wilking at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to investigate the preparation of novel complexes that contain the heavier Group 14 elements: silicon, germanium, and tin, as part of a cyclic system. These compounds, known as metalloles, will be coupled with transition metal units either bound directly to the Group 14 element or through a phosphorus-containing linkage attached to the cyclic unit. The coupling of transition metals with the Group 14-containing metalloles provides a way to merge the unique chemical, electronic, and optical properties of both subunits to produce new complexes and materials with remarkable properties that will lend themselves to applications in electronic devices, chemical sensors, and catalysts for the metal-mediated transformations of organic molecules.
The support of this research plan will enable the professional training of graduate and undergraduate students including underrepresented groups, such as women, in the synthetic and characterization techniques involved in the preparation of organometallic compounds.
