Supramolecular Redox-active and Inactive Systems Derived From Hemilabile Ligands

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Chad Mirkin of the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University on the use of redox-active hemilabile ligands (RHLs) to control the coordination sites at transition metal centers. A series of compounds, including polyterthienyl RHL complexes of Ru, will be synthesized and their properties studied. A complimentary approach involving metal rather than ligand-centered redox reactions will be investigated. In addition, a new high yield strategy for preparing macrocyclic multimetallic compounds with synthetically programmable structures and properties will be implemented. Once optimized, this strategy should be useful for virtually any transition metal. The goal of this research is to prepare metal complexes which can be electrochemically changed from one state to another with the concurrent release or uptake of small molecules. The utility of these compounds for separations, particularly of chiral molecules important to the pharmaceutical industry, will be determined, and their application as molecular switches explored. Although not a direct objective of this research, the results could also lead to a rational design of materials for catalysts and sensors. The students involved in this project will receive training in both inorganic and analytical methodology, and undergraduate participation will be achieved by leveraging an existing REU program at Northwestern.