Project description
Redefining chemistry one crystal at a time
In chemistry, the most powerful catalysts are often the most unstable. These are fleeting molecular structures that dissolve or deactivate before they can act. In solution, solvents and side reactions can smother this delicate reactivity, preventing scientists from harnessing their full potential. With this in mind, the ERC-funded PRECISION SMOM project aims to solve this challenge by removing the solution altogether. The project’s goal is to introduce reactions that take place inside single crystals, where molecules remain precisely ordered yet reactive. By controlling how metals behave in these crystal environments, PRECISION SMOM aims to unlock new pathways for clean, efficient catalysis. Overall, it will redefine what is possible in molecular synthesis and materials chemistry.
Objective
Fast and efficient solution-based homogeneous catalysis, or the synthesis of complexes with weakly bound ligands (e.g. methane), often requires the formation of a highly active, coordinatively unsaturated, metal centre. However, the vast excess of solvent can play a detrimental role by competitive coordination, or reaction itself, at the metal centre. Even if solvent does not impede the formation of reactive species, dimerisation can form inactive complexes. These factors quench reactivity and obstruct the formation of reactive complexes that are on the brink of stability, but at the cutting-edge of synthesis and catalysis.
If the problem is the solution, then the solution is to remove the solution!
PRECISION SMOM directly addresses this problem, redefining what is possible in the molecular synthesis of, and catalysis with, highly active organometallic complexes, by offering opportunities in chemical space that extend far beyond what is possible using solution-based methods. It does this by exploiting the Solid-state Molecular OrganoMetallic (SMOM) methods pioneered by Weller; where synthesis, reactivity and catalysis occur in crystallo using precisely-defined molecular single-crystals in solid/gas processes, as shown by the synthesis and reactivity of stable σ-alkane complexes, solving a 40-yr-old challenge in organometallic chemistry.
PRECISION SMOM will use a suite of synergistic studies to understand, and control, the influence of metal site and microenvironment on in crystallo reactivity. Such holistic, fundamental, understanding will promote the translation of SMOM systems into precisely-defined heterogeneous molecular catalysis, focussing on selective and efficient processes for a range of challenging but widely applicable transformations. PRECISION SMOM will change the way we think about reactivity in molecular single-crystals: breaking new ground, embracing wider challenges, and exploiting new opportunities for in crystallo synthesis and catalysis.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry organometallic chemistry
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
YO10 5DD YORK NORTH YORKSHIRE
United Kingdom
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