Page 14 - Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Proceedings 2017-18

School of Science
Department of Chemistry

structure of one of the subunit (PB1) of influenza A virus polymerase and investigating the activity of the polymerase
after site-directed mutagenesis and outline implications of the experimental results.

Chemistry of Aromatic Metallacycles

Supervisor: JIA Guocheng / CHEM
Student: NG Tsz Kin / CHEM Course: UROP1000, Summer

Aromatic metallacycle is an important branch of organometallic chemistry, which attracts appreciable amount of
interest from the research field in these years to unveil its potential in electronic applications comparing with its organic
analogs, which are commonly used nowadays as organic semi-conductors and conducting organic polymers. The
simplest example of aromatic metallacycle, the monocyclic metallabenzene, was well investigated by previous studies,
while the development of polycyclic aromatic metallacycles was hindered by its thermal instability. Recently Professor
Jia’s group reported the first example of bicyclic and tricyclic metalla-arynes, which are thermally and kinetically stable
for further studies in its chemical or electrical properties. This research focuses on reproducing the result of the osma-
anthracyne synthesis to strengthen its reliability.

Supervisor: JIA Guocheng / CHEM
Student: WONG Tak Hin / SSCI Course: UROP1000, Summer

The progress report is divided into two parts, one is the reactivity of rhenium carbine complexes with sulphur, and the
other one is the design of redox flow battery. For the former one, we studied the reactivity of [ReI(≡CCH3)(dppm)2]I and
[ReI(≡CCH2Ph)(dppm)2]I with the reaction with sulphur, and the research results was negative. For the latter one, we did
the synthesis of anolyte of the battery, we used 4,4’-bipyridine as a viologen and we modified the viologen by different
reagent and the product was sent to further investigation by cyclic voltammogram.

Supervisor: JIA Guocheng / CHEM
Student: WONG Ting Hei Matthew / SSCI Course: UROP1000, Summer

An attempt to synthesize a new bidentate aryl phosphine ligand (P(o-C6H4Me)2(o-C6H4OH)) was made. Synthetic
methods for similar ligands (e.g. P(m-C6H4Me)2(o-C6H4OH)) reported in literatures were found to give no reaction in this
process, and different coupling reactions were thus tested to produce the oxide form of the ligand. So far, the ligand
oxide has been successfully isolated, but its reduction has not yet been achieved, which is hypothesized to be due to the
steric hindrance from the methyl group in the ortho position relative to the phosphorus centre. Further investigations
are being carried out in attempt to obtain the ligand from its oxide.

Application of Molecular Orbital Theory to Transition-metal Complexes

Supervisor: LIN Zhenyang / CHEM
Student: LEUNG Chung Sum / CHEM Course: UROP1100, Fall

18 and 16-Electron rules are intuitive concepts that are highly useful for us to predict and understand electronic
structures of transition metal complexes. In this report, studies on the electronic structures of palladium spiroaromatic
complex was carried out to understand the electronic structures and geometric rearrangement of spiro-metalla
aromatics, while integrating the concept of electron rules during the interpretation of the electronic structures of the
metal complex. Hence, the application of 18 and 16-Electron rules can be explored under the context of metal
complexes with strong π interacting ligand.

4