9311812 Dunbar With this award, the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports research on synthesis of compounds containing heavier transition metals by Dr. Kim R. Dunbar of the Chemistry Department, Michigan State University. Solvated mononuclear and dinuclear complexes with new phosphine ligands possessing unusual steric or electronic properties and with cyanide or polynitrile will be used as starting materials for the synthesis of unusual or unstable species. Targeted for synthesis are monomers of iridium, palladium, and platinum which contain seven d-electrons and which might have activity in radical coupling reactions. In addition, some iron(II) oligomers will be synthesized, using bulky ether-phosphines to stabilize the structure. Polynuclear metal nitriles of molybdenum, rhenium, rhodium, manganese and vanadium which may have unusual magnetic or electronic properties will be prepared. %%% Some metal ions associated only with solvent molecules are readily available for reaction with other species in solution which are able to substitute for the solvent molecule. Dr. Dunbar is able to prepare such species for a variety of second and third row transition metals, starting from dinuclear compounds. In this project, she will synthesize new solid-state inorganic compounds containing organophosphorus, organonitrile, and cyanide ligands. This research may result in new routes to unusual materials having useful solid state properties. ***
