US-France Cooperative Research: Novel Metallaborane Chemistry: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

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0231792FehlnerThis three-year award for US-France collaboration in chemistry involves researchers and students at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Rennes. Thomas P. Fehlner in the US and Jean-Francois Halet in France lead this collaboration. They will investigate the electronic structure and reaction chemistry of a class of metallaborane clusters. The former will address advanced qualitative molecular orbital theory and electron counting and the latter addresses metal properties responsible for exhibited structural behavior. In these investigations, the researchers focus on explanations of chemical bonding of hypoelectronic metallaboranes. They posit that the high thermal stability, low reactivity with air and water suggest new chemical species that lie somewhere between metallaboranes of later transition metals and solid state metal borides. The French team brings to the collaboration theoretical expertise and will perform large cluster, cross-cluster bonding and other calculations. This is complemented by US experimental expertise in electrochemistry, design and synthesis. The collaboration will advance understanding of the bonding and structural aspects of metallaboranes and approaches for new materials.This award represents the US side of parallel proposals to the NSF and the CNRS. NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the US investigator and his students. The CNRS will support visits by French researchers and students to the United States. .