Organometallic chemistry

Organometallic compounds will be defined and their applications and uses surveyed.

 

Ligands will be classified and electron counting and oxidation states of their subsequent complexes will be described.

 

Structure and bonding in various organometallic ligands, e.g. carbonyls, alkyls, alkenes, alkynes, cyclobutadiene, cyclopentadienyl, arenes, carbenes and carbynes, will be described. With an understanding of how coordinating an organic molecule to a metal centre modifies the structural and spectroscopic properties of the organic molecule, we will see how the reactivity is also modified so that new chemistry can be done.

 

 

The synthesis of organometallic compounds will be described and key reaction types and reagents identified.

 

Transition metal hydrides, agostic hydrogen atoms and their relevance to reactivity will be explored.

 

The reactions of organometallic compounds, e.g. association, dissociation, oxidative addition, reductive elimination, alkene insertion and beta-elimination, will be described and combined with the prediction of organometallic reactions.