Henry Taube of the Chemistry Department, Stanford University, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program to carry out mechanistic studies of oxidation-reduction reactions of osmium compounds. One highlight of the study will be comparison of the reactivity of osmium (III) monohydrides with analogous compounds with I, II, and IV oxidation states. A variety of other topics will be investigated: 1) oxidation-reduction and acid-base chemistry of dihydrogen complexes of osmium; 2) examination of the influence of a facial geometry, imposed by triazacyclononane ligands, upon the high oxidation-state chemistry of osmium; and 3) and investigations into the reactivity of novel seven-coordinate paramagnetic Os (IV) complexes. The research is of a fundamental nature and, as such, provides the foundation for understanding how to control electron transfer. The information garnered from these studies may provide crucial insights into the development of new catalysts or molecular electronics.
