Towards P-block Catalysts: Making Chemical Bonds on a Budget

• Author / Creator

  Lui, Melanie W

• The work in this thesis describes advancements made towards developing main group catalysts and designing new ligands. N-Heterocyclic imine (NHI) ligands were used to support novel boron, silicon and germanium complexes. The new boron compounds demonstrated the ability to dehydrogenate amine-boranes and instigate their dehydrocoupling. In one case, the catalytic dehydrogenation of amine-boranes was observed. Although the synthesized silicon and germanium compounds were structurally similar, they exhibited very different reactivity under reducing conditions. The former underwent a highly unusual ligand rearrangement, while the latter formed the desired two-coordinate acyclic germylene. In addition, new olefin-based ligands featuring mixed element donors were designed and their coordination chemistry with Lewis acids BH3 and AuCl revealed different binding sites. These findings led to the isolation of a bimetallic complex that employed both donors at the same time. Finally, the preliminary photoluminescent properties of copper and gold complexes supported by the new N-heterocyclic olefin-phosphine (NHOP) ligands will be discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • ligand design
  • silylene germylene
  • main group catalysis
  • P-block

• Graduation date

  Spring 2017

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R35H7C938

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.