This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program provides continued support to Dr. Gregory H. Robinson of the Chemistry Department, University of Georgia, for investigation of the coordination chemistry of aluminum compounds containing Al-Al bonds. The synthetic approach to the target molecules--novel organometallic alanes--will require preparation of anionic aluminum dimers containing a hydride bridge and bulky aryl ligands by alkali metal reduction of diaryl aluminum hydrides. Preparation of the diaryl aluminum hydrides will be based on the synthetic route to analogous gallium compounds. In addition, attempts will be made to achieve the desired products using a template based on bis(aluminumdichloride). Organometallic compounds of aluminum have been prepared only recently, and unlike other members of the Group III family, boron and gallium, few molecules containing a multiple aluminum atoms are known. Preparation of compounds of this type presents a synthetic challenge, but also may lead to compounds with novel properties since other members of this family have become important in the manufacture of electronic materials
