Low Coordinate Main Group Chemistry: Discovery and Innovation

从20世纪70年代末至80年代初合成较重的第13至15族元素的稳定的不饱和衍生物开始，现在已经合成了数量可观的曾经被认为“不存在”的化合物，这是对全球主要族合成化学界的决心和技能的真实证明。这一研究领域背后的驱动力往往是学术化学家与生俱来的好奇心，他们受到具有挑战性的合成的启发，希望了解这些重要的基础物种中的成键。此外，这些分子通常是构建新的分子靶标的最佳且唯一的起始材料。最近发现了一种稳定的三键锡衍生物，它经历了可逆的加成反应(催化转化的关键步骤)，稳定的硅基阳离子在催化降解有机氟化合物和聚醚等环境污染物方面起着至关重要的作用，锗离子被认为是不对称合成高级医药中间体的独特催化剂，这些发现极大地改变了人们对这一化学领域的价值的看法。不饱和主族化合物现在为全球寻找解决当今世界面临的重大挑战的创新解决方案提供了一条未经探索的途径。这些化合物的未来从未像现在这样光明。在下一个授权期内，我们将探索不饱和主族化合物的合成和机理化学，目的是为科学界提供对这些化合物的反应活性的详细了解，这是实现这类分子的潜力所必需的。

Beginning with the synthesis of stable, unsaturated derivatives of the heavier group 13 to 15 elements in the late 1970s to early 1980s, an impressive number of compounds once thought to be "non-existent" have now been synthesized, a true testament to the determination and skill of the global main group synthetic chemistry community. The driving force behind this area of research was often the innate curiosity of academic chemists who were inspired by the challenging syntheses and who desired to understand the bonding in these important, fundamental species. Furthermore, such molecules were, most often, the best and only starting materials for the construction of novel molecular targets. The recent discoveries of a stable distannyne (triply bonded tin derivative) which undergoes a reversible addition reaction (a key step in catalytic transformations), of stable silyl cations which are vital players in the catalytic degradation of environmental pollutants such as organofluorides and polyethers and of germanium cations which are envisioned as unique catalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of advanced pharmaceutical intermediates have dramatically shifted the perception of the value of this area of chemistry. Unsaturated main group compounds now offer an unexplored avenue of inquiry in the global search for innovative solutions for the major challenges facing today's world. The future for these compounds has never been brighter. Over the next granting period, we will explore the synthesis and the mechanistic chemistry of unsaturated main group compounds with the goal of providing to the scientific community a detailed understanding of the reactivity of these compounds, something that is critically needed if the potential of this class of molecules is to be realized.