Seminar - Leslie J. MURRAY

Polynuclear metal assemblies housed within metalloenzyme active sites and as fragments of metal surfaces effect transformation of small molecule substrates by multi-proton multi-electron transfers. Developing synthetic species that harness the cooperative reactivity observed in these systems remains an unresolved challenge. Our approach is to template polynuclear metal complexes using macro(bi)cycles, thereby allowing for a priori control of the complex nuclearity and relative disposition of the frontier orbitals of each metal center. Reported and ongoing work on the reactivity of polynuclear metal complexes of this type with small molecules, including dinitrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, will be discussed as well as the relationship of these synthetic systems to the biological and industrial processes.