Harnessing the Unusual Reactivity of Transition Metal Complexes Supported by Multidentate Silyl and Phosphido Ligands

Transition metal catalysts play a key role in the development of new chemical processes that convert abundant resources into value-added products in an efficient, selective, and environmentally friendly manner. In this context, research in the Turculet group targets the preparation of reactive transition metal pincer complexes that can promote selective chemical transformations involving abundant yet stubbornly unreactive molecules (e.g. hydrocarbons, ammonia, nitrogen). We seek to develop efficient new catalytic reactions that transform such "feedstock" chemicals into useful functionalized building blocks for chemical synthesis. The development of reactions of this type has been deemed one of the greatest current challenges in catalysis. The Turculet group has made pioneering contributions to the synthesis of highly reactive, non-conventional silyl and phosphido pincer metal complexes, and we have made important breakthroughs involving the utilization of such complexes for breaking hydrocarbon C-H and ammonia N-H bonds. In this proposal, we seek to capitalize on this novel reactivity in order to develop new catalytic processes for the transformation of ammonia into organic amines. We also propose the synthesis of new pincer complexes that are designed to react with either hydrocarbons or nitrogen (depending on the identity of the metal center) with the goal of breaking C-H and N-N bonds, respectively, so as to enable their use as synthons in chemical synthesis. We aim to incorporate such challenging bond breaking steps into new catalytic processes - a long-standing challenge in synthetic chemistry. Such methodology could find widespread application in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and materials. Research in the Turculet group has attracted the highest-caliber graduate and undergraduate students (as evidenced by numerous prestigious scholarships, e.g. NSERC, Killam), and the proposed program will continue to recruit such outstanding personnel. Students will be trained in organic and inorganic synthesis techniques, as well as in catalysis, which will prepare them for a diversity of careers in either industrial or academic settings.