Soluble elements from a new corner of the periodic table 6 June 2016 The breakthrough from the research team of Professor Holger Braunschweig is presented in the top-tier journal Nature Chemistry, thanks to the unexpectedly high stability of the molecules. These results from the JMU chemistry laboratories are expected to open a new era for the chemistry of the elements of this corner of the periodic table. Promising candidates for challenging reactions The incorporation of hydrogen and carbon monoxide into organic molecules is an example of one of the challenging chemical reactions carried out on huge scales in industry. Currently, these reactions are exclusively carried out with help from expensive heavy metals such as rhodium, palladium and platinum. For reasons of sustainability and cost, replacing these expensive Beryllium in the center, flanked by two stabilizing cyclic catalysts with alternatives from the main group ligands: another "world premiere" from Würzburg chemistry. Credit: Julia Schuster elements of the periodic table - many of which are abundant in the Earth's crust - would be a huge step forward. It is one of the more memorable experiments of This often means accessing the elemental states of high school chemistry lessons: when elemental these atoms in molecular systems. However, this is sodium comes into contact with water it burns and by no means trivial, as many of the potential explodes. Sodium simply isn't happy in its candidate atoms ¬- sodium being an extreme elemental form, making it highly reactive. This is example - are highly reactive in their elemental more or less true for all of the other elements from states. Recent success has been made with p- the so-called "s-block" of the periodic table, to block elements such as silicon, tin and boron, while which sodium belongs. this new work is the first ever example with an s- block metal, beryllium. A chemistry research group at the Julius- Maximilians-Universität (JMU) of Würzburg in Developing alternatives to toxic beryllium Bavaria, Germany, has now, for the first time, tamed one of these "wild" s-block metals. The "The only drawback of beryllium is its toxicity", researchers constructed molecules that states Dr. Merle Arrowsmith, Alexander von incorporate one atom of the alkaline earth metal Humboldt postdoctoral fellow in the group of Holger beryllium in its elemental state. That the molecules Braunschweig. Even more interesting would be to do not immediately decompose at room extend this chemistry to magnesium or calcium, temperature is thanks to stabilization by two cyclic elements that are both abundant and ligands. biocompatible, making them ideal as potential catalysts for important chemical reactions. 1 / 2 Given their success in incorporating elementary beryllium into a stable molecule, the chances are good that this could also work with other s-block metals. "Our discovery is a first step in capturing other s-block metal atoms in their elemental state, which we hope will promote reactions that usually only proceed with expensive heavy metals," says Ph.D. student Julia Schuster, who synthesised the new molecules. The research group is currently developing similar methods for other s-block metals. More information: Neutral zero-valent s-block complexes with strong multiple bonding", Merle Arrowsmith, Holger Braunschweig, Mehmet Ali Celik, Theresa Dellermann, Rian D. Dewhurst, William C. Ewing, Kai Hammond, Thomas Kramer, Ivo Krummenacher, Jan Mies, Krzysztof Radacki, Julia K. Schuster. Nature Chemistry, DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2542 , Advance Online Publication 2016. Provided by University of Würzburg APA citation: Soluble elements from a new corner of the periodic table (2016, June 6) retrieved 27 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2016-06-soluble-elements-corner-periodic-table.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 2 / 2 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).