CAREER: Metal-Ligand Multi-Electron Reactivity: Exploring the Chemistry of d0 Metal Complexes with Redox-Active Ligands

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This CAREER award by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports work by Professor Alan F. Heyduk at the University of California-Irvine to develop two-electron reactivity for transition metal complexes with formal d0 metal electron counts and the use of ligand-based redox activities. The desired reactivities of these titanium, zirconium and halfnium metal complexes include oxidative addition, reductive elimination, and atom- and group-transfer reactions. These reactions are essentially unprecedented for these metals, so their elucidation will provide new reactivity patterns for use in catalyst design. The elaboration of new C-H bond functionalization strategies could impact the synthesis of commodity, pharmaceutical, and fine chemicals by providing a mild method for introducing nitrogen or oxygen containing functional groups into simple hydrocarbon substrates. The broader impacts of the research program include the scientific training and education of undergraduate and graduate researchers and students. Students will pursue new and original solutions to chemical problems while acquiring the technical skills that will make them competitive for future jobs in academia or the chemical industry. Beyond the laboratory, Professor Heyduk will further students' understanding of alternative energy strategies through a Freshman Seminar Course and UCI's California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science COSMOS program. Further, in collaboration with middle-school science teachers at schools near UC Irvine, Professor Heyduk is designing scientific experiments that introduce young students to experimental science to encourage them to think about scientific principles in the context of observation and data collection and to implement these principles in the construction of logical conclusions.