New Vistas for Reactive Metal Complexes

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Christopher Cummins of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for research in relatively uncharted areas of inorganic chemistry through synthetic and mechanistic studies. Specific research topics include: reductive coupling of dinitrogen and carbon dioxide; dinitrogen as a co-catalyst for redox reactions; dinitrogen cleavage in heterobimetallic systems; reactive intermediates via-N-atom transfer; complexed nitrous oxide in oxidation catalysis; redox-catalyzed C-N bond cleavage; the terminal carbide functional group; chemistry of complexed organoazides; PN complexes; titanium enolates; metallaziridine chemistry of molybdenum and niobium; tungsten tris-amide complexes; a heptatrienyl ligand. The research is centered on synthesis and characterization of novel types of inorganic substances involving main-group elements, such as O, N and P, bound to heavy metals including rhodium, tungsten, molybdenum and niobium. Many of the compounds prepared are expected to have novel and interesting patterns of chemical reactivity. Synthetic efforts will be supplemented by quantitative and mechanistic studies. The novel chemistry being developed is likely to be applicable to practical problems in atmospheric, industrial and biological chemistry