Multifunctional Borylenes for Metal- and Boron-Mediated Reactions

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As we progress into the 21st century, our society has become increasingly cognizant of our growing energy needs, our dwindling supply of traditional resources, and the global environmental challenges created by anthropogenic climate change. To address these issues, we must develop sustainable technology that emphasizes environmental stewardship. Inorganic chemistry is in a uniquely powerful position to make meaningful global impacts, as chemical industry is responsible for approximately 20% of all industrial energy consumption in North America, and around 90% of all chemical processes utilize catalysts to improve their energy efficiency. Recent successes, including the discovery of stable carbenes heralded the development of highly efficient carbene-supported inorganic catalysts for olefin metathesis and cross-coupling reactions, which served to drastically reduce the energy input required to access these important chemical intermediates. Additionally, the development of main group catalysis has provided the first alternatives to the use of rare transition metal catalysts in many reactions, providing the a new path towards sustainable resource use. Despite these successes, there is still much work to be done to transition our society toward dependence on sustainable resources and responsible management of our finite ones. To tackle these issues, my research program is divided into two streams that are unified under the concept of applying recent fundamental advances in main group chemistry to the catalytic and materials sciences, with a focus on the emerging applications of neutral boron(I) molecules known as borylenes. Our first stream will target borylene ligands for transition metals (TMs) that offer an unprecedented level of electron density to a TM center. This property makes them ideal candidates for the construction of new energy-saving catalysts for use in many industrially important reactions. A second stream will focus on the metal-free reactivity of borylenes, where the concepts learned in borylene and main group chemistry are united to produce new catalytic cycles involving challenging transformations such as C-H activation and the functionalization of molecular nitrogen that are based on earth abundant elements. Another application involves the involves the use of metal-free borylenes to generate new libraries of electronically flexible conjugated materials with applications as energy-saving electrode materials within rechargeable batteries. My research projects specifically target collaboration with Canadian industrial partners, and will strengthen Canada's role in in the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable technology to address some of the most pertinent challenges currently facing society. Students engaged in these multidisciplinary projects will be gain both the technical and communication skills that will allow them to take on leadership roles in green chemistry as they begin their independent careers.