Professor Tara Y. Meyer, Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry, National Science Foundation, for her project in catalyzed imine metathesis. Specifically, the project objectives will focus on (i) synthesizing second generation catalysts, (ii) on preparing a new class of imine metathesis catalysts based on phosphorous compounds, and (iii) on synthesizing new monomers.
Realization of the specific objectives will not only result in the preparation of new monomers, catalysts and polymers, but will also provide a greater understanding of the fundamental nature of metal-nitrogen bonding. This topic is central to a diverse range of applications including metal-nitride precursor synthesis, ammoxidation of propylene, nitrogen fixation and metal-catalyzed carbon-nitrogen formation in organic syntheses. Both undergraduate and graduate students will be mentored and will gain broad chemical skills in an area of organometallic catalysis so crucial to the well being of the nation's chemical industry.
