RuZn · Ru–Zn Heterobimetallic Complexes

Ru–Zn Heterobimetallic Complexes

One of the main goals of the chemical sciences is to develop novel, better methods for the preparation of organic compounds. These compounds can act as precursors for medicines, agrochemicals and fragrances or become building blocks for the production of polymers and materials. But first, organic molecules should be made in an efficient and sustainable manner. This is often achieved by the means of homogeneous catalysis with metals, a synthetic approach that is widely applied by chemists in both academia and industry. Homogeneous catalysis with metals can be performed by two types of catalysts bearing orthogonal properties: i) derivatives of Lewis Acidic Metals (LAM) and ii) complexes of Late Transition Metals (LTM). The combination of these two types of catalysts in one molecule leads to the heterobimetallic late transition metal – Lewis acidic metal (LTM–LAM) compounds, which have a number of unique properties and are promising for potential catalytic applications, in which they exhibit properties greater than the sum of the two individual parts. However, at this time, LTM–LAM complexes are still significantly underrepresented in chemical research. In the RuZn project we concentrated our research around a particular group of heterobimetallic complexes, namely ones containing direct unsupported Ru-Zn bonds. The previous work conducted in the group of Prof. Mike Whittlesey (University of Bath, UK; host of the project) showed an intriguing reactivity for several members of this exotic family of molecules, that could be potentially applied to novel catalytic transformations. The objectives for the work of Fedor Miloserdov (the fellow) were to i) develop new synthetic approaches to Ru-Zn complexes, that would allow the synthesis of more compounds of this type bearing different ligand environments, ii) a systematic study of their chemical properties and reactivity and iii) tests of their potential applications as catalysts for the synthesis of organic compounds.

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