Development of new main group based catalysts for the activation of small molecules. Activation of small molecules has always attracted much attention in the scientific world, due to ubiquitous reservoirs of chemical energy stored in molecules such as H2, N2, O2, H2O, CH4, etc., and carbon feed stock when talking about CO2, CO etc.
Although many methods have been developed to activate small molecules involving the late transition metals or noble metals, the need for high catalyst loading in some of these processes and recovery of those precious metals results in a high economic cost. The presence of heavy transition-metal impurities in the final products also presents a major problem regarding purification, further increasing the costs involved. Therefore, developing an efficient either early transition metal based or ultimately transition-metal-free process will significantly alter the synthetic strategies toward the activation of small molecules and their delivery to the desired substrates.
