Harnessing the Reactivity of Sulfur: From Novel S-Atom Transfer Reagents to Sulfide-Protected Nanoclusters

With the support of the Chemical Synthesis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Trevor Hayton of the University of California-Santa Barbara will explore the chemistry of sulfide-containing metal complexes. Sulfur plays a key role in industry, medicine, and biology. Underpinning much of this chemistry is the reactivity of metal sulfides.

In this project, Professor Hayton will develop several new applications of metal sulfides, including nitric oxide delivery, catalytic sulfur-atom transfer for organic synthesis, and quantum computing. This research will provide excellent training to undergraduate and graduate students in the synthesis and characterization of air-sensitive metal complexes, preparing them for careers in academia, industry, and the national laboratory system.

In addition, Professor Hayton will develop a student-led virtual seminar series to introduce students to cutting-edge nanoscience. This series will allow undergraduate students, in particular, to network with researchers from other institutions and meet potential employers.

With the support of the Chemical Synthesis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Trevor Hayton of the University of California Santa Barbara will perform a wide-ranging investigation into metal sulfide reactivity related to a diverse set of topics, including bioinorganic chemistry, organic synthesis, and nanoscience. In particular, his laboratory will explore the reactions metal sulfides with nitric oxide in an effort to understand the NO/H2S “crosstalk” process, a suite of reactions between NO and sulfide/hydrosulfide in biological systems that is thought to play an important role in cell signaling and the immune response.

Additionally, they will explore the ability of the monothiopercarbonate fragment (i.e., the SOC(O)O-dianion) to function as a S-atom transfer reagent. This species is predicted to be a thermodynamically more powerful S-atom source than elemental sulfur, yet should feature good kinetic stability. Finally, they will synthesize and isolate a series of nickel sulfide atomically-precise nanoclusters (APNCs) of varying size.

This series of clusters is designed to uncover how paramagnetism emerges in transition metal nanoclusters. Open shell APNCs can feature single molecule magnet (SMM) behavior and have been proposed to function as novel spin qubits.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.