This grant from the Organic Dynamics Program supports the work of Professor William M. Jones at the University of Florida, Gainesville to study three related topics in organometallic chemistry. The first concerns the development of carbene migratory insertions in the iron triad. This chemistry concentrates on the use of carbene complexes of the late transition metals iron, ruthenium, and osmium and aims to explore catalyzed migratory insertions and rearrangements of unstabilized complexes, and also will compare their aptitude for migratory insertions. The second topic of study concerns the synthesis of mainly zirconium complexes with molecules containing highly strained multiple bonds with particular emphasis on cyclic cumulenes and cyclopropenes. The third area deals with the formation and reactions of transition metal complexes of tropynes, metalloazulenes, and metallobenzenes. In this project Professor William M. Jones will study reactivity aspects of carbene complexes of the late transition metals iron, ruthenium, and osmium. The work will concentrate on carbene migratory insertions, on structural and synthetic aspects of complexed strained alkenes and alkynes, and on the synthesis of novel metalloaromatics.
