Exploring the Molecular Chemistry of Selenium and Tellurium

元素硒和碲具有广泛的工业和消费应用，从太阳能电池生产和钢铁制造到去头屑洗发水。自然界已经进化出复杂的酶，硒是控制生化反应的关键成分，使其成为必需的微量营养素。与其在生物学中的重要作用相反，重硫族元素在人造化学品中的应用落后于其他常见元素，如磷和硫。鉴于这种高潜力的新发现，硒和碲（被称为“重硫族元素”）正在越来越多地研究，以寻找新的应用。2015年，加拿大是世界上第四大这些元素的生产国，这进一步激励了人们探索这些元素的化学性质。 拟议的研究计划将对新的含重硫族元素配体的化学进行调查，这些配体是与金属结合的分子或离子。这种性质的研究存在于文献中，但它们相对稀少，并且通常没有足够的数据将配体的结构与所得金属络合物的活性相关联。我们的目标是制备一个相关的配体库，并系统地研究它们的构效关系，为未来的分子金属配合物的合理设计建立协议。这项工作将产生这些配体的基础化学的新发现，这反过来将使它们能够被纳入具有现实世界适用性的化合物中，例如用于生产精细化学品或药物的催化剂，或改进的捕光材料。高素质人员（HQP）的培训在本研究中至关重要。64%的预算用于支付一些本科生和研究生HQP的工资和津贴，他们将进行这项研究，从而学习有价值的可转移技能。发展强大的研究，沟通和解决问题的能力将使他们能够过渡到政府，学术界和工业界的需求职业。

The elements selenium and tellurium have a wide range of industrial and consumer applications, from solar cell production and steel manufacture to anti-dandruff shampoos. Nature has evolved complex enzymes featuring selenium as a critical component in controlling biochemical reactions, making it an essential micronutrient. In contrast to its valuable role in biology, the use of the heavy chalcogens in man-made chemicals lags behind other common elements such as phosphorus and sulfur. Given this high potential for new discoveries, selenium and tellurium (known as the "heavy chalcogens") are being increasingly researched to find new applications. In 2015, Canada was the fourth-largest producer of these elements in the world, providing further incentive to explore the chemistry of these elements. The proposed research program will conduct investigations into the chemistry of new heavy chalcogen-containing ligands, which are molecules or ions that bind to metals. Studies of this nature exist in the literature, but they are relatively sparse, and often there is not enough data to correlate the structure of the ligands with their activity of the resulting metal complexes. We aim to prepare a library of related ligands, and systematically investigate their structure-activity relationships to establish protocols for the future rationale design of molecular metal complexes. The work will generate new discoveries of the fundamental chemistry of these ligands, which in turn will allow them to be incorporated into compounds with real-world applicability, such as catalysts for production of fine chemicals or pharmaceuticals, or improved light-harvesting materials. Training of highly-qualified personnel (HQP) will be of paramount importance in this study. 64% of the budget is dedicated to wages and stipends for a number of undergraduate and graduate student HQP, who will conduct this research and in turn learn valuable transferable skills. Developing strong research, communication, and problem-solving skills will allow them to transition to in-demand careers in government, academia, and industry.