“The Oxo Wall”
Presented by
Prof. Harry
B. Gray
Caltech
The dianionic oxo ligand occupies a very special place in coordination chemistry, owing to its ability to donate pi electrons to stabilize high oxidation states of metals. The ligand field theory of multiple bonding in metal-oxos, which was formulated in 1961 and reported in my very first Columbia paper, predicts that there must be an “oxo wall” between Fe-Ru- Os and Co-Rh-Ir in the periodic table. I thought it would be fun to return to Columbia in 2010 to discuss this early work as well as new developments in the field. In particular, I will make connections between the electronic structures and reactivities of biologically important metal-oxos (Fe-oxos in the catalytic cycle of cytochrome P450 and Mn-oxos in the oxygen evolving complex of photosynthesis); and, in the final minutes of my talk, I will ask Ged Parkin if he knows of any stable tetrahedral or tetragonal metal-oxos that are beyond the wall, as (if he does) I would like to hear about them!
Hosted by Prof. Gerard Parkin
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Meet the speaker at 1:30pm in room 328 Havemeyer
Tea & cookies at 4:00pm in room 328 Havemeyer
Seminar at 4:30pm in room 209 Havemeyer
