Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The research program outlined in this proposal entails the development and investigation of several new families of inorganic reagents. In particular, this research is focused on the chemistry of the main group, which includes the elements of the s- and p-blocks of the periodic table. Although these elements are components in many important materials - e.g. the transparent semi-conductor called "indium tin oxide" is a critical component of touch screens and solar panels - and chemical compounds (e.g. phosphates in fertilizers and cleaning products), the chemistry of these elements remains poorly understood and controlled in comparison to those of organic chemistry or transition metal chemistry. Our studies include both the synthesis of new main group compounds and the accurate modeling of chemical species and reactions through the use of computational chemistry. The target compounds consist of new classes of chemicals that contain main group elements in unusually low oxidation states and coordination numbers. Low oxidation state compounds are electron- rich and are typically highly reactive - as are many elements with low coordination numbers. We have discovered convenient approaches to mediate the reactivity of several major classes of these compounds so that they are stable enough to be isolated yet still possess the desired reactivity characteristics. Our compounds allow for the convenient synthesis of many compounds that are difficult or impossible to make using traditional methods and we endeavour to use our new reagents to obtain many unprecedented types of chemicals. We will also explore the utility of our reagents (and chemicals derived from them) as precursors for the formation of new or important materials. In addition to their synthetic utility, the compounds studied will provide many new insights into the fundamental aspects of the chemistry of the main group elements. The understanding provided by such studies form the foundation necessary for the rational design and development of chemicals and materials derived from main group compounds.