Overview
To strengthen capacity building and increase the contribution of research and higher education in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Nairobi in order to address national, regional, and global priority needs for social economic growth and environmental health security.
The research group's goal in this project is to strengthen research and training in Inorganic Chemistry concepts such as catalysis, sensors, nanochemistry, and organometallics; establish synthesis and analytical capacity; and improve cooperation with scientists in the North, South, and regionally. Inorganic chemistry is critical to chemistry solutions to the many challenges we face in the twenty-first century, such as sustainable energy and the use of renewable raw materials through catalysis. Kenya must therefore be able to continue teaching students at the research level of inorganic chemistry. The proposed work would also aim to increase the use of research findings from funded activities through dissemination, scientific conferences, and seminars, the output of results relevant to progress, and improved capacity and quality of research activities in order to attract research grants.
Sponser
International Science Programme (ISP) Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
Principal Investigator
Abstract
Abstract
Various oxathiacrownether macrocycles attached to ruthenium(II) and rhenium(I) signalling units have already been synthesized and characterized using established literature methods with appropriate modifications. Their ability to bind metals like cadmium(II), lead(II) and mercury(II) using techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, luminescence and NMR titrations are being investigated. In addition to this, we propose to take advantage of cyclometallation to build transition metal complexes with extended π-systems and strong metal-carbon bonds; thereby changing the HOMO-LUMO gap and potentially tuning both excited state lifetimes and redox potentials. Investigation of C-H activation in transition metal complexes with the ligand 2-(1-naphtyl)pyridine has been done [Kondrashov and Wendt, to be submitted] and here we will synthesize complexes of ruthenium and iridium with this ligand via Suzuki coupling. The complexes will then be investigated with respect to their electrochemical and luminescence properties and they will also be used as sensitizers in TiO2-catalysed oxidation reactions. The synthesis of Ti O2 composites that lower the energy gap for Titanium to enable visible light excitation will be continued. The new compounds will be analysed and tested for water purification using photolysis