Exploring and exploiting intermolecular bonding in heavy p-block metals

这项研究计划的主要目标是促进相对不发达的一类重金属的合成和结构化学的发展，这类重金属被称为重金属P-块金属。这是通过系统地突出重金属化学键相互作用的一系列化合物的制备和表征来实现的。在过去的几年里，人们对含有重金属的金属有机化合物的兴趣与日俱增，因为它们是制备具有特殊电子性能的无机材料的先驱体，如低禁带半导体薄膜(InP)和纳米粒子(PBS)，以及高温超导薄膜(TlBaCaCuO)。我们正在开发操纵重p-嵌段金属化合物的结构化学的方法，这对于制备具有先进无机材料加工所需的特定块状性质(例如，增加的溶解度、高挥发性、高效的质量传输)的前体是必不可少的。这项工作对基础和应用化学的其他几个领域也具有重要意义，即：1)合成无机/有机金属化学，开发合成新型重p-嵌段金属化合物的简便途径；2)超分子化学，通过将重p-嵌段金属结合到有趣的自组装骨架中；以及3)催化，通过制备对有机化合物有潜在反应的阳离子铋化合物。该研究计划的长期目标包括调查目标化合物在这些领域的应用。

The primary goal of this research program is the advancement of the relatively underdeveloped synthetic and structural chemistry of a class of heavy metals, known as the heavy p-block metals. This is being achieved through the preparation and characterization of series of compounds which systematically highlight heavy metal chemical bonding interactions. Over the past number of years, interest in organometallic compounds incorporating heavy p-block metals has grown due to their utility as precursors for advanced production of inorganic materials with specific electronic properties, such as low band-gap semiconductor thin films (InP) and nanoparticles (PbS), and high temperature superconductors thin films (TlBaCaCuO). We are developing methods to manipulate the structural chemistry of heavy p-block metal compounds, which is essential for the preparation of precursors with specific bulk properties (e.g. increased solubility, high volatility, efficient mass transport) required for advanced inorganic materials processing. This work is also significant to several other areas of fundamental and applied chemistry, namely: 1) synthetic inorganic/organometallic chemistry, in the development of facile routes to novel heavy p-block metal compounds; 2) supramolecular chemistry, through incorporation of heavy p-block metals into interesting self-assembled frameworks; and 3) catalysis, through the preparation of cationic bismuth compounds which are potentially reactive toward organic compounds. The long-term goals of this research program involve investigating the application of target compounds to these areas.