Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The primary goal of my research program is to develop the rich and tunable reaction chemistry of main group organometallic complexes (i.e. those of indium and bismuth), and exploit their use as alternatives to expensive and toxic transition metal and rare earth coordination complexes for green chemical processes. In this research proposal, we plan to synthesize and characterize novel redox active compounds. This will be achieved through the use of acyclic and macrocyclic dinucleating ligands and redox active ligands to provide reactive mono-, bi- and polymetallic complexes. The electrochemical properties of the resulting compounds be determined, and they will be screened for reactivity with small molecules. This work will represent a significant contribution to the development of the fundamental and reaction chemistry of heavy main group metals. It will establish the parameters for preparing previously unexplored redox active main group metal molecular compounds and demonstrate their potential as reactive species in chemical transformations. Ultimately, this may lead to new classes of homogeneous organometallic catalysts that possess unique reactivity and afford novel chemical products. These contributions will further the hitherto underexplored potential of organometallic heavy main group metal compounds as key components in the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies.