Investigating the Catalytic Applications of Trisox when Bound to Metals: Cobalt (II), Nickel (II), Copper (II)

Abstract

Record ID: 5

Award(s): Excellence in Research Communication

Program Affiliation: Capstone

Presentation Type: Poster

Abstract: Trisox is a versatile ligand that could be utilized as catalysts in chemical reactions to help further the knowledge of coordination chemistry. Studying coordination chemistry can assist in showing how different molecules interact with each other to form metal complexes. Trisox ligands, as the name suggests, contain three oxygen atoms which includes monomeric, six-coordinate, pseudo-octahedral geometries. In this study, novel metal complexes of Trisox ligands with Cobalt (II), Nickel (II), and Copper (II) were synthesized and characterized to analyze oxidation reactions that use air as an oxidant. The synthesis involved the coordination of the Trisox ligand with the respective metal salts, followed by recrystallization to obtain pure crystalline products. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was utilized to confirm the structures and interpret the coordination environments of the metal complexes. Further characterization through mass spectrometry provided additional insights into the molecular composition and fragmentation patterns of these metal complexes. Further studies will involve the use of UV-Vis spectroscopy to analyze the electronic transitions within the metal complexes which could offer insight into the electronic structures and potential optical properties. Overall, this study contributes to the expanding field of coordination inorganic chemistry by introducing new Trisox metal complexes to explore further catalytic, chemical, and optical properties.