Event

Cooperative Small Molecule Reactivity with Diphosphine and Redox-Active Tetradentate Ligands

Ligands that actively participate in chemical or redox transformations have expanded the scope of precious and non-precious metal complexes in catalytic reactions, and afforded new opportunities in diverse fields such as supramolecular chemistry and chemical sensing. In this talk, I will describe our recent efforts aimed at designing new diphosphine and tetradentate ligands that (1) react with small molecules with and without obvious participation of the metal, and (2) combine ligand-centered chemical and redox activity for electrochemical CO2 reduction. The reactivity to be described relies on cooperative participation of two atoms on the ligand (cooperative ligand-centered reactivity) or cooperative substrate binding across the metal and ligand (metal-ligand cooperativity). Structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical data will be presented in support of coordination chemistry and reactivity results with late transition metals. Inquiries please contact Rosa M. Vargas rvargas@sas.upenn.edu