Photocatalysts incorporated in N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

Photocatalysts incorporated in N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

CHEMISTRY & GREEN CHEMISTRY

Lab: LCC

Duration: NanoX master Internship (8 months part-time in-lab immersion)
5 months full-time internship
6 months full-time internship

Latest starting date: 01/03/2023

Localisation: The internship will be hosted in the team "Molecular Design of Transition Metal Precatalysts" of the Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry of CNRS headed by Dr Vincent CESAR

Supervisors:
Dmitry VALYAEV, Dr dmitry.valyaev@lcc-toulouse.fr
Olivier BASLE, Dr olivier.basle@lcc-toulouse.fr

This research master's degree project could be followed by a PhD

Work package:
Since the beginning of 21th century, photocatalysis revolutioned organic synthesis due to the development of numerous reactions previously considered as impossible.[1] Though the most emblematic photocatalysts are based on noble metal complexes (Ru, Ir), the design of alternative systems using Earth-abundant metals[2] or organic molecules[3] remains highly attractive in the context of sustainable chemistry. Despite emerging applications of transition metal complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (NHCs) in the area of photoluminescent materials, such compounds were rarely exploited in photocatalysis. The main objective of this internship is the preparation of new families of photoactive NHC ligands incorporating in the NHC backbone organometallic or organic chromophores via a metal-mediated approach previously developed in our team.[4] The investigation of photophysical and electronic properties of these species will be carried out later to apply them in innovative chemical transformations.

References:
[1] C. K. Prier, D. A. Rankic, D. W. C. MacMillan, Chem. Rev. 2013, 113, 5322. [2] B. M. Hockin, C. Li, N. Robertson, E. Zysman-Colman, Catal. Sci. Technol. 2019, 9, 889; [3] N. A. Romero, D. A. Nicewicz, Chem. Rev. 2016, 116, 10075. [4] a) A. A. Grineva, D. A. Valyaev, V. César, O. A. Filippov, V. N. Khrustalev, S. E. Nefedov, N. Lugan, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 7986; b) A. A. Grineva, O. A. Filippov, S. E. Nefedov, N. Lugan, V. César, D. A. Valyaev, Organometallics 2019, 38, 2330; c) A. A. Grineva, O. A. Filippov, Y. Canac, J.-B. Sortais, S. E. Nefedov, N. Lugan, V. César, D. A. Valyaev, Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 4015.

Areas of expertise:
Organometallic chemistry, Organic chemistry, Luminescence, Photophysical studies, Photocatalysis, N-Heterocyclic Carbenes, Manganese

Required skills for the internship:
Good background in coordination and/or organic chemistry. Some experience in photophysical studies will be also highly appreciated.