Abstract

Atomically Precise Nanoclusters (APNCs) are an emerging class of materials that feature properties found in both traditional metal complexes and bulk metals. The vast majority of APNC research has focused on the group 11 metals.  In contrast, very little work has focused on ferromagnetic metals, such as Fe, Co, and Ni.  Herein, I describe our attempts to make paramagnetic Ni- and Co-containing APNCs. In addition, I will describe their characterization by variety of methods, including multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, ESI-MS, and SQUID magnetometry.  I will also discuss the optimal ligand and starting material properties that are necessary to generate and stabilize these elusive materials.

Biography

Prof. Trevor Hayton received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 2003, under the direction of Prof. Peter Legzdins. After graduating, he began a postdoctoral fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working under the direction of Dr. James M. Boncella. In 2006, he started a faculty position at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and then to Full Professor in 2014.  He has been awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the Dalton Transactions Lectureship, and a Humboldt Foundation Bessel Research Award.  In 2019, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.