New Landscapes in Alkaline Earth and Lanthanide Chemistry

本课题组主要研究主族和f块元素的基础化学及其在可持续合成中的应用。大多数Ae和Ln金属无毒，储量丰富，价格相当（Mg $2/kg, Ca $2/kg, Ba $20-50/kg, Eu $28/kg, Sm $13/kg, Yb $50/kg），与一些最便宜的用于催化的金属（Fe $0.1/kg, Co $31/kg, Ni $11/kg），这使它们成为未来工业开发的有吸引力的目标。鉴于此，我们对发现这些金属的新结构基序和不寻常的反应性很感兴趣，这些金属可以用于激活作为催化基石的战略性小分子（例如CO， CO2, H2）。该博士项目将针对Ae元素（Mg, Ca， Sr和Ba）和选定的Ln金属（Eu， Sm和Yb）开发前所未有的低氧化态化学。这些物种将被用作活化合成气中所含分子的强力试剂；雄心勃勃的目标将是实现简单的转化，而不需要过渡金属催化剂通常需要的苛刻反应条件。随着Ae和Ln金属的新基本性质的发现，这一新的试剂家族将为化学合成提供更可持续的方法。

Our research group studies the fundamental chemistry of main group and f-block elements and their application in sustainable synthesis. Most of Ae and Ln metals are non-toxic, earth-abundant and comparable in price (Mg $2/kg, Ca $2/kg, Ba $20-50/kg, Eu $28/kg, Sm $13/kg, Yb $50/kg) to some of the cheapest metals used in catalysis (Fe $0.1/kg, Co $31/kg, Ni $11/kg), which makes them attractive targets for future industrial exploitations. In the light of this, we are interested in the discovery of new structural motifs and unusual reactivity of these metals, which could be applied for the activation of strategic small molecules (e.g. CO, CO2, H2) used as building blocks in catalysis.This PhD project will target the development of unprecedented low-oxidation state chemistry for the Ae elements (Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba) and selected Ln metals (Eu, Sm and Yb). Such species will be used as powerful reagents for the activation of molecules contained in synthesis-gas; the ambitious goal will be to deliver facile transformations without the need of harsh reaction conditions normally required with transition metal catalysts. Together with the discovery of new fundamental properties of Ae and Ln metals, this new family of reagents will provide an innovative approach towards more sustainable methodologies for chemical synthesis.