Interplay of electron-rich metal species and Lewis acids for the activation of small molecules

Activation of small molecules by donor-acceptor systems is conceptually important as many catalytic processes rely on the synergistic action of electron-rich and -poor sites to activate and cleave bonds.

This pertains to both the biological and industrial chemistry contexts. In this presentation, I will describe hybrid main-group/transition metal dyads initially developed for N 2 activation, taking inspiration from the frustrated Lewis pair chemistry [1] and based on low-valent group 6 complexes and strong group 13 Lewis acids. [2–4].

Their application to other small molecules will be discussed. Finally, I will introduce some of our recent work on a “frustrated redox triad” and discuss the concept of Lewis acid coordination-coupled electron transfer.

References

[1] D. W. Stephan, Science 2016, 354, aaf7229.

[2] A. Simonneau, R. Turrel, L. Vendier, M. Etienne, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 12268–12272.

[3] D. Specklin, M.-C. Boegli, A. Coffinet, L. Escomel, L. Vendier, M. Grellier, A. Simonneau, Chem. Sci. 2023, 14, 14262–14270.

[4] L. Escomel, F. F. Martins, L. Vendier, A. Coffinet, N. Queyriaux, V. Krewald, A. Simonneau, Chem. Sci. 2024, 15, 11321–11336.

Hosted by: Jason Lynam (jason.lynam@york.ac.uk) and John Slattery john.slattery@york.ac.uk