With this award from the Chemical Synthesis (SYN) Program, Professor Joseph Sadighi at the Georgia Institute of Technology will study reactive N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) compounds having dinuclear and trinuclear copper, silver and gold species. The NHC ligand will support a trinuclear gold cation, in which metal-metal bonding results primarily from s-orbital interactions, as well as hydride-bridged dinuclear cations displaying varying degrees of metal-metal bonding. This research will include the tuning of trigold clusters to develop multielectron redox reactions, and the synthesis of analogous complexes such as tricopper and trisilver cations with the ultimate goal of having such compounds serve as platforms for the development of catalytic reactions. Dinuclear and trinuclear metal-element clusters, formed through atom- or group-transfer reactions, will be studied, and the synthesis of reactive metal hydride complexes through dihydrogen activation will be developed. Finally, the stabilization of odd-electron complexes with fractional metal-metal bonding will be explored.
This research is designed to afford insight into unusual types of bonding among metal centers, or between metals and main group elements. Unusual bonding motifs can be tailored to enable normally difficult bond-breaking and bond-forming processes. Control of these processes is crucial to the development of new catalysts for such important and challenging reactions as the controlled oxidation of hydrocarbons, using oxygen from the atmosphere, or the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into liquid fuels. This is expected to contribute to sustainable chemistry. The graduate and undergraduate students who carry out this research will be prepared to contribute to the future of science in the United States as academic researchers and teachers, or as research scientists in chemical industry or in government laboratories. The research team will reach out to local high schools, to identify interested students from Atlanta's diverse student body and to give them the experience of research in the university setting.
