Transition Metal Complexes with Redox-active Ligands: Understanding and Using Unusual Electronic Structures and Ligand-based reactivity

Fekl小组的研究重点是氧化还原活性有机分子与金属（如镍或铂）配合的反应。传统上，大多数含金属分子包含一个氧化还原活性金属中心和不氧化还原活性的有机部分（“无辜的旁观者配体”）。使用氧化还原活性配体的概念在有机合成（例如，制造具有药用价值的分子）方面非常有前途，但还处于起步阶段。有许多有用应用的新反应正在被开发出来。例如，我们正在利用我们发现的一种新反应来制造手性分子，这种反应可以帮助合成不对称分子。这些新化合物将用作对映选择性催化剂，用于生产生物活性化合物。相关分子将被研究其导电或半导体特性，这可能导致新的电子材料。计算和实验方法将用于研究氧化还原活性配体的详细影响。在活细胞的显微成像中，其他化合物会导致更高的对比度。

Research in the Fekl group focuses on reactions of redox-active organic molecules coordinated to metals such as nickel or platinum. Traditionally, most metal-containing molecules contain a redox-active metal centre plus organic parts that are not redox-active ('innocent spectator ligand'). The concept of using redox-active ligands is very promising for organic synthesis (to make, for example, pharmaceutically useful molecules) but is in its infancy. Novel reactions are being developed that have many useful applications. For example, we are exploiting a new reaction we discovered for making chiral molecules that can aid the synthesis of unsymmetrical molecules. The new compounds will be used as enantioselective catalysts, for the production of bio-active compounds. Related molecules will be investigated for their conducting or semiconducting properties, which can lead to novel materials for electronics. Computational and experimental methods will be used to investigate the detailed effects of a redox-active ligand. Other compounds will lead to much higher contrast in microscopic imaging of living cells.