Innovative alkaline earth systems for the activation and functionalization of dinitrogen and other challenging substrates

Informations projet

AE-FUN

N° de convention de subvention: 101108798

DOI

10.3030/101108798

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 6 Avril 2023

Date de début 1 Juin 2023

Date de fin 31 Mai 2025

Financé au titre de

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Coût total

Aucune donnée

Contribution de l’UE

€ 172 018,56

Coordonné par

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AE-FUN (Innovative alkaline earth systems for the activation and functionalization of dinitrogen and other challenging substrates)

Période du rapport: 2024-06-01 au 2025-05-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Catalysis has been recognized as a critical tool of contemporary society. However, there are still many limitations of current catalytic methods. For example, ammonia production relies upon the highly energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, which consumes up to 3% of the global energy produced annually. For this reason, developing new catalytic systems that achieve this transformation in milder conditions are highly desirable.
This EU-funded AE-FUN project aims to develop novel systems based on earth-abundant alkaline earth metals for the challenging conversion of dinitrogen into ammonia and other nitrogen-containing valuable chemicals. We seek to establish the grounds for a promising approach to sustainable catalysis by exploring for the partnership between abundant alkaline earth (Ae) metals in low oxidation states and transition metals (TM). We envisioned that by harnessing the unexplored modes of cooperativity between TM and low-valent Ae metals, new synergies will arise and facilitate the activation of challenging substrates and their functionalization.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

During this period, a series of novel alkaline-earth complexes bearing bulky neutral or anionic ligands have been synthesized. These complexes show great stability towards Schlenk equilibrium, a well-known process which poses an additional difficulty to the obtention of well-defined heteroleptic alkaline-earth complexes. Some of these complexes contain halide groups which make them useful precursors for reactivity and catalysis. These new Ae complexes were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques, including single-crystal x-ray structure determination.
Depending on the ligand framework used, a family of mono-, bi- or polynuclear complexes are obtained. In addition, for a same ligand, the geometry of the resulting complex can also depend on the nature of the Ae metal (Mg gives the potassium ‘ate’ complex, Ca forms dimers; and Sr and Ba form polynuclear clusters).

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

During our investigations, in our search for new compounds suitable for the stabilization of low-valent metals, we developed a new series of ligand precursors. In addition, we found that one of these compounds can promote the activation of highly stable aromatic bonds. This ground-breaking result is a major accomplishment and may find a wide range of applications for the activation of strong bonds.