Javier Borau-Garcia, PhD Candidate

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

CHEMISTRY 601

INORGANIC SECTION

SPEAKER:            Javier Borau Garcia, PhD Candidate.

DATE:                     Tuesday, December 6, 2011.

TIME:                      12:30 p.m.

PLACE:                  SB 324.

TITLE:                       Non-Innocent Redox-Active Ligands

From Spectroscopic Curiosities to   Applicable Compounds.

ABSTRACT:           

The term non-innocent ligand was first introduced in 1966 by Jørgensen.1 Non-innocent ligands were defined as those which do not allow the oxidation state of the central atom in a coordination complex to be defined. The definition of non-innocence presented implies the use of redox-active ligands but it has been broadened to include other non redox-active examples. In this talk the focus will be kept on redox-active non-innocent ligands from their discovery and the controversy they caused in defining the oxidation state of the central atom to their most recent discovered applications.

Redox-active ligands have been found to be excellent one electron reservoirs that allow transition metal centers to perform unique reactions.2 The reactions presented involve novel intermediate states and usually metal centers that keep their oxidation state unchanged throughout the reactions. Metal-mediated redox chemistry where oxidation state changes occur at the ligand rather than at the metal center is a much broader concept that should allow for new transformations to be imagined and, ultimately, new applications to emerge.2

1. Jørgensen, C.K. Coord. Chem. Rev. 1966, 1, 164.

2. Chirik, P.J.; Wieghart, K. Science 2010, 327, 794