Metals in Catalysis, Biomimetics & Inorganic Materials

Coordination chemistry is the chemistry of metal atoms "coordinated" by other atoms, ions or molecules. Important challenges in the research on coordination and organometallic chemistry are to understand the relation between the ligand and metal complex structures and the (catalytic) properties of the resulting complex on the molecular level.

The design of new ligands, with various steric and electronic constraints is a major challenge, and from here the prediction of the coordination geometry and intramolecular interaction and reactivity is a major goal. Methodologies in research vary from fundamental coordination chemistry (spectroscopy, magnetism, X-ray diffraction), including characterisation and structure of the solid compounds, to in situ characterisation of the solutions with NMR and (frozen solution) EPR, under (catalytic) reaction conditions.