The public is welcome to the seminar for the 40th Chemistry Department Undergraduate Research Program. 

Dr. Christine M. Thomas, The Ohio State University

Applications of Bimetallic Cooperativity in Early/Late Heterobimetallic
Compounds to Bond Activation and Catalysis

Abstract:
The formation and cleavage of chemical bonds in catalytic reactions relies on
accessible redox processes that are often challenging for base metals such as first row
and early transition metals. Bimetallic cooperativity provides a potential solution to this
challenge. Leveraging dinucleating phosphinoamide ligands, a series of early/late
heterobimetallic Zr/Co compounds have been synthesized and investigated. These
frameworks have been shown to support metal-metal multiple bonds and facilitate redox
and small molecule application processes. The many ways that metal-metal
cooperativity can be incorporated into bond activation and catalysis will be showcased
in two examples. First, the use of cobalt as a "redox-active metalloligand" for the
appended redox-inactive d0 ZrIV metal site of a tris(phosphinoamide)-bridged Zr/Co
complex can be used to promote oxidative group transfer and coordination-induced
bond weakening through a multi-site coupled proton electron transfer process. In
addition, the Co and Zr sites can simultaneously interact with substrates to facilitate
bond activation processes such as those involved in C-H activation and N2 fixation.