
A robust method for determining the 3D structures of arbitrary silica-supported molecules is developed.
Significance and Impact
Previously, only the chemical identities of supported species were accessible, limiting efforts in designing catalytic active sites. The orientation, conformation, and coordination geometries of metal complexes can now all be determined with relative ease, opening new routes to the tuning of catalyst selectivity.
Research Details
- Complexes are grafted to a 29SiO2 support.
- 13C,15N{29Si} distance measurements are performed to orient ligands relative to the surface.
- A distance geometry algorithm is used to determine detailed 3D structures from supported metal complexes.
FA Perras, U Kanbur, AL Paterson, P Chatterjee, II Slowing, AD Sadow, “Determining the Three-Dimensional Structures of Silica-Supported Metal Complexes from the Ground Up," Inorg Chem 2021.