Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/10/2023
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Please join us on October 12th for a seminar delivered by Dr. Jose Goicoechea from Indiana University Bloomington.

Title: The Cyaphide Ion: A New Building Block for Chemical Synthesis

Date: Thursday, October 12, 2023

Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Room: ABB 165

Host: Dr. David Emslie

Abstract: The cyanide ion is found in coordination compounds across many areas of chemistry, ranging from biological enzyme cofactors to bespoke magnetic materials and catalysts. It has been extensively studied in inorganic chemistry (as an archetypal strong field ligand) and is an important functional group in organic chemistry (in nitriles and isonitriles). By contrast, heavier cyanide analogues, such as the cyaphide ion, C?P–, are virtually unexplored despite the enormous potential of such ions as ligands in coordination compounds and extended solids. This is ultimately due to the lack of a suitable synthesis of cyaphide compounds. We recently reported the synthesis and isolation of a magnesium–cyaphido complex by reduction of iPr3SiOCP with a magnesium(I) reagent. By analogy with Grignard reagents, this compound can be used for the incorporation of the cyaphide ion into the coordination sphere of metals using a simple salt-metathesis protocol.

This talk will focus on the synthesis and reactivity of novel cyaphido metal complexes, with a particular focus on multi-metallic compounds, and discuss the factors which influence their stability. The electronic structure of the cyaphide anion will be compared to that of other important valence isoelectronic analogues, such as the cyanide and acetylide ions, in order to understand how it influences the unique reactivity of the cyaphide moiety.