Small Molecule Activation and Materials Synthesis

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Professor Wolczanski of Cornell University will conduct investigations of early transition metal oxo and nitrido compounds with funding from the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program. In one phase of the studies he will investigate small molecule activation by low-coordinate electrophilic metal centers such as zirconium and titanium compounds of bulky hard pi donors. Reactions of these compounds with alkanes, alkenes, and arenes will be studied for their ability to cleave the C-H and C-C bonds. The other phase of the work will be directed towards preparing new materials by use of early transition metal complexes as precursors. These precursors will have strong pi donor ligands such as nitrides and amides. It is anticipated that use of these precursors will enable the synthesis of materials that are more complex than those obtained by conventional high-temperature methods. %%% The chemistry of a class of early transition metal molecules that have bonds through nitrogen and oxygen atoms will be studied for two reasons. One is that these compounds display unusual and unique reactivity with C-C and C-H bonds in other molecules. The other is that they can be used as molecular precursors in the synthesis of novel materials of high complexity. It is hoped that these studies will lead to improved methods of controlling the reactivity of hydrocarbons and of designing interesting materials.