Introducing New Transition Metals to Photoactive Complexes with Alkyl- and Arylisocyanide Ligands

• Applicant: Dr. Malte Sellin
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 554740200

Luminescent Complexes find many applications in e.g. solar harvesting, lighting or in the photoredox catalysis. The state-of-the-art luminescent complexes however contain expensive and rare transition metals as iridium and ruthenium, which hinders their broad application. The exchange of the metal atom in these complexes towards more available metals as manganese or iron is therefore an active research area. The research group of Prof. Oliver Wenger is successfully working on this topic and had achieved great advances utilizing zero- and monovalent hexaarylisocyanide complexes. Starting from this point, there are several pathways to diversify the broadness of luminophores based on hexaarylisocyanide complexes. The proposed project contains the implementation of metals in negative oxidation states, the reverse electron transfer and the exploitation of metal-centered excitations. All parts of the project require experience in the handling of sensitive (strongly reducing, oxidizing, methylating) compounds, which I collected during my doctoral thesis in the Krossing group as well as an excellent infrastructure and expertise for the investigation of luminophores, which the group of Prof. Wenger provides.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Host: Professor Dr. Oliver S. Wenger