Metal Complexes for Activation and Scission of Small, Multiply-Bonded Molecules

Ubiquitous but inert molecules such as molecular nitrogen and carbon dioxide are processed in biological systems under mild conditions in stark contrast to existing industrial processes which require drastic temperatures and pressures to perform the same function. Our project addresses this in-balance by using a combination of powerful computational methods and advanced synthesis to design highly-tuned, low-coordinate metal complexes specific for the activation and scission of small molecules possessing strong, multiple bonds. These complexes offer new, inexpensive and less hazardous routes to generating high-value products from simple industrial feedstock molecules, and provide a template for building metal complexes with novel ligands.