Investigation of Molybdenum Metallocene Complexes for Hydrolyzing Phosphate Neurotoxins

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Dr. Louis Kuo, Chemistry Department, Lewis and Clark College, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry of the Chemistry Division for research into the syntheses and investigation of new organometallic complexes that hydrolyze phosphate esters. Molybdocene dichloride (Cp2MoCl2) is the only known organometallic system that carries out the hydrolysis of organophosphates in aqueous solution. The PI has demonstrated that this process involves a Lewis Acid/Base interaction of the molybdenum complex with the phosphate center. Increasing the Lewis acidity of Mo(IV) should accelerate ester hydrolysis. Thus, in this project the Lewis acidity of Mo(IV) centers will be altered by attaching small electron withdrawing/donating groups to the cyclopentadienyl ligand. A variety of these will be investigated in order to develop relationships which relate the structures of the complexes with their ability to hydrolyze phosphate esters. Using these relationships, new transition metal-based materials will be designed for the degradation of organophosphate neurotoxins. The second part of the project will investigate the ability of the molybdocene derivatives to hydrolyze the P-S bond in phosphinothioates. Throughout the project, mechanistic investigations will be undertaken.Many chemical warfare agents and pesticides are phosphate esters or resemble phosphinothioates. The main detoxification strategies for these species are hydrolysis and incineration. This project seeks to develop new agents that can accelerate the hydrolysis of phosphates and phosphinothioates. There is current importance to developing better reagents that hydrolyze phosphate esters because substantial stockpiles of chemical warfare agents must be destroyed over the next few years. Educationally, this project will have a major impact on undergraduate research at Lewis and Clark College and the environmental implications of the project will impact the college's burgeoning Environmental Studies program as well as its chemistry and biochemistry programs.