Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The primary goal of this research program is the advancement of the relatively underdeveloped synthetic and structural chemistry of a class of heavy metals, known as the heavy p-block metals. This is being achieved through the preparation and characterization of series of compounds which systematically highlight heavy metal chemical bonding interactions. Over the past number of years, interest in organometallic compounds incorporating heavy p-block metals has grown due to their utility as precursors for advanced production of inorganic materials with specific electronic properties, such as low band-gap semiconductor thin films (InP) and nanoparticles (PbS), and high temperature superconductors thin films (TlBaCaCuO). We are developing methods to manipulate the structural chemistry of heavy p-block metal compounds, which is essential for the preparation of precursors with specific bulk properties (e.g. increased solubility, high volatility, efficient mass transport) required for advanced inorganic materials processing. This work is also significant to several other areas of fundamental and applied chemistry, namely: 1) synthetic inorganic/organometallic chemistry, in the development of facile routes to novel heavy p-block metal compounds; 2) supramolecular chemistry, through incorporation of heavy p-block metals into interesting self-assembled frameworks; and 3) catalysis, through the preparation of cationic bismuth compounds which are potentially reactive toward organic compounds. The long-term goals of this research program involve investigating the application of target compounds to these areas.