This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program provides continued support for research on the nature of metal-metal bonding by Dr. Dennis L. Lichtenberger of the Chemistry Department, University of Arizona. Using photoelectron spectroscopy, Lichtenberger is able to characterize the electronic structure of metal-metal interactions as affected by changes in chemical environment. The strength of the metal-metal bonds under investigation ranges from quadruple and triple bonds to those with only weak associations. The metals used most commonly are chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, rhodium, ruthenium, and iron. Ligands will also vary, and in some cases the metals will be bridged. Plans are also in place to study some terminal metal-oxo, metal-nitrido, and metal-alkyne systems, in which multiple bonding between a metal and a heteroatom occurs. Lichtenberger will also continue to improve the high precision X-ray core photoelectron spectroscopy instrumentation in his laboratory for study of both gas phase and condensed species, including thin films of metallic materials. %%% The structure, stability and reactivity of metal-metal bonds influences many chemical, catalytic, and materials processes. By developing methods to study a wide variety of multi-metal systems and cataloging fundamental information about their electronic behavior, Dr. Dennis L. Lichtenberger of the University of Arizona will contribute to both the theoretical and practical understanding of systems that are important in the chemical and electronic industries.
