This grant, funded jointly by Special Projects in Chemistry and the Division of Materials Research provides support for the research of Profs. Caulton and Chisholm at the University of Indiana. The objective of the research is to apply the principles of molecular inorganic and organometallic chemistry to the synthesis of useful solid-state materials such as metal carbides, nitrides and high temperature superconducting oxides. The carbide and nitrides can be made by conversion of molecular carbides and nitrides or by converting hydrocarbyl or amido ligands to these atomic groups by thermal or photochemical methods. Surface coating with tungsten carbide is proposed via condensation of tungsten alkoxide bonds with surface hydroxyl groups. Molecular precursors to oxide superconductors will be made by condensing copper, barium and yttrium alkoxides, in certain cases augmented by oxo and peroxo-ligands. The final conversion of alkoxo to oxo ligands will be effected thermally, hydrolytically, photochemically and by using ultrasound or electron-transfer oxidation. The organic ligands will be optimized in the molecular precursors for the final conversion to the solid materials.
