SFB 858: Synergetic Effects in Chemistry - From Additivity towards Cooperativity

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The CRC 858 applies cooperative effects to the construction and activation of chemical systems in an interdisciplinary approach, aiming at evolving the term cooperativity into a general principle in particular for chemical sciences. Cooperative effects will allow steering chemical reactivity to a higher degree of efficiency and understanding how chemical structures can be constructed in a well-defined manner. These goals are explored at two levels: at the molecular level cooperative effects are investigated on smaller defined compounds which can be well characterized by analytical techniques and by computational methods. At the systemic level, complex structures are investigated, including surface determined processes, covering synthetic inorganic materials as well as bio systems. All research fields are linked by theoretical chemistry. In all systems studied cooperative interactions exerted by individual chemical entities lead to an outcome which is different from the sum of the impacts of all individual entities.One hot topic within the CRC 858 is the chemistry of frustrated Lewis acid / -base pairs (FLPs) for the development of novel chemical reactions. In bi- and multi metallic systems cooperative effects of interacting metals in organometallic compounds are studied, including established ligand structures and unconventional ligands like DNA. This area now is extended towards the preparation of nanoclusters and their application in catalysis, therefore important contributions to the field of heterogeneous catalysis have been made. In pioneering contributions surfaces are exploited as platforms for (pre)organisation and as mediators for the conduction of 2D chemical reactions, where the surface acts cooperatively as steering factor for the discrete arrangement of individual molecules and as catalyst for the bond forming reaction. Magnetism arises from cooperative interactions of individual atoms or molecules. CRC contributes to this by construction of organic polyspin systems, synthesized and analyzed based on theoretical predictions. Cooperativity is a key issue for function in various biological systems, e.g. when modulating the surface of dynamic biomembranes. With combined theoretical and experimental methods the CRC investigates weak cooperative interactions as driving forces for protein-protein and protein-carbohydrate recognition. Furthermore, protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions are studied by chemically conjugating proteins and by installing synthetic probes.The CRC 858 bundles fundamental aspects of cooperativity, a term that cumulatively is used in chemistry and physics. The researchers develop general concepts in order to contribute to a generally accepted perception of the term cooperativity. With its participating institutions the University of Münster offers together with the Center for Nanotechnology (CeNTech) an ideal infrastructure for interdisciplinary research on Synergistic Effects in Chemistry.