Chemical Bonding Across the Periodic Table, at High and Ambient Pressures

无机，生物无机和有机化学计划的这一奖项支持康奈尔大学罗尔德霍夫曼教授的研究，以建立量子力学和化学直觉之间的桥梁，特别是在高压化学结构领域。 在研究的一部分中，将考虑跨化学键合的特定难题。 该提案要求什么样的原子集可以构建包含正方形平面和四面体元素几何结构的网络，以及是否可能在苯环中含有碘。 另一个问题是，离子（而不是分子）固体在多大程度上保持了对其组分构建块的结构偏好的记忆。 一个核心的努力解决了化学在新兴的高压结构领域的作用，并建议设计一系列的研究，以深入了解是什么决定了结构下，说，五倍体积压缩。 一个焦点是富氢材料，探索一种建议，即如果氢被“化学预压缩”，即束缚在分子前体中，那么在压力下更容易实现金属化和超导性。 在理论和实验之间、化学的不同分支学科之间以及高压研究领域的化学和物理之间建立桥梁，将对储氢等领域的科学产生广泛的影响。 这项工作还将通过致力于为普通观众撰写和讲述科学，以及与艺术界人士交流，为整个社会、青年科学家以及艺术和人文领域的人士搭建桥梁。

This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Roald Hoffman at Cornell University to build bridges between quantum mechanics and chemical intuition, particularly in the realm of high pressure chemical structures. In one part of the research, specific puzzles of bonding across chemistry will be considered. The proposal asks for what set of atoms could one build networks containing both square planar and tetrahedral element geometries, and whether it is possible to have an iodine in a benzene ring. Another question is to what extent does an ionic (not molecular) solid maintain a memory of the structural preferences of its component building blocks. A central effort addresses the role of chemistry in the burgeoning field of structure under high pressure and proposes to design a series of studies to gain insight into what determines structure under, say, five-fold volume compression. One focus is hydrogen-rich materials, exploring a suggestion that easier metallization and superconductivity under pressure might be achieved if hydrogen is "chemically precompressed," i.e tied up in a molecular precursor. Building bridges between theory and experiment, between different subdisciplines of chemistry, and between chemistry and physics in the field of high pressure studies is proposed to have a broad impact in science in areas such as hydrogen storage. The work would also build bridges to society at large, to young scientists, and to those in the arts and humanities through a commitment to writing and speaking of science for/to a general audience, and to communicating with people in the arts.