Dr. David A. Atwood, Department of Chemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program of the Chemistry Division and by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) for studies of the chemistry of Group 13 complexes. The fundamental chemistry of cationic, anionic, and neutral complexes will be investigated, which could lead to the development of applications in Lewis acid and Ziegler-Naata catalysis and in nanoparticulate oxide synthesis. The education component of this project integrates teaching with research, and fundamental with applied chemistry through the formation of courses which emphasize synthesis, catalysis and solid-state materials in ways that relate the chemistry to applications and uses in daily life. This project addressses the synthesis of new compounds with Group 13 metal ions such as aluminum and gallium. Synthetic strategies will be developed, and a wide range of molecular and solid-state characterization techniques will be used to study the fundamental chemistry of these systems. Fundamental developments in the chemistry of these systems could lead to applications in catalysis and solid-state materials.
