John F. Corrigan
Professor and Associate Chair
B.Sc. (University of Toronto)
Ph.D. (University of Waterloo)
Office: ChB 16, Lab: ChB 14/15
Phone (Office): (519) 661-2111 ext 86387
Phone (Lab): (519) 661-2111 ext 86285
Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry
Awards:
(CNC-IUPAC) Award
Current Research Programs:
The research carried out in our group focuses on the synthesis, structural characterisation and physical properties
of high nuclearity, metal cluster particles. There are three primary reasons and objectives behind the development
of this key area of chemical research: (i) the controlled synthesis of large metal or mixed main group-metal
colloids and clusters may lead to a size regime wherein the electronic properties of these molecules no longer
resemble those of smaller, discrete molecular units nor do they mimic those of the corresponding bulk materials.
Such complexes hold great promise for use in microelectronic applications, such as in the development of
quantum dots where only discrete, quantised energy levels (and thus the need for a strictly regular array
of metal atoms) are available. (ii) The use of discrete 'premixed' binary or ternary phase clusters, with
labile ancillary ligands has been shown to afford alternate, low temperature routes into corresponding
(and possibly new) solid state materials. The use of preformed molecules in the preparation of solids allows for
lower reaction temperatures and times for the formation of solids, thus implying kinetic versus thermodynamic
control during sample preparation. (iii) The development of heterogeneous catalysts using supported large
clusters or colloids of known structure, chemical composition and nuclearity is expected to lead to greater
selectivity versus conventional systems where the size distribution of the dispersed metal particles can also
lead to a distribution of the products obtained.
Our efforts in these areas can be categorized in the following areas: i) ligand stabilised ternary phase
nanocluster systems; ii) the use of (p) conjugated organic spacer molecules in order to link polymetallic
sites in one, two and three dimensions whereby electronic communication between them is thus made possible
and iii) the incorporation of nanoclusters into sized restricted, one directional nanosilicate materials.
Students working on these projects learn the techniques of inert atmosphere synthesis and utilise a wide arsenal
of characterisation techniques including X-ray crystallography (single crystal and powder), combination TGA-GC/MS,
NMR (multinuclear, solution and solid state), UV-VIS and FT-IR spectroscopy and electrochemistry. Selected Publications:
T. Levchenko, C. Kübel, Y. Huang, J. F. Corrigan, Chem. Eur J., 2011, in press. From Molecule to Materials: Crystalline Superlattices of Nanoscopic Molecules of CdS.
D. Taher, J. F. Corrigan, Organometallics, 2011, in press. Aryl(trimethylsilyl)selenides as Reagents for the Synthesis of Mono and Di-Selenoesters.
D. G. MacDonald, A. Eichhöfer, C. F. Campana, J. F. Corrigan, Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17, 5890-5902. Ferrocene Based Trimethylsilyl Chalcogenide Reagents for the Assembly of Functionalized Metal-Chalcogen Architectures.
C. B. Khadka, D. G. MacDonald, Y. Lan, D. Fenske, A. K. Powell, J. F. Corrigan, Inorg. Chem., 2010, 49, 7289-7297. Trimethylsilylchalcogenolates of Co(II) and Mn(II): From Mononuclear Coordination Complexes to Clusters Containing –ESiMe3 Moieties (E = S, Se).
S. Ahmar, D. G. MacDonald, N. Vijayaratnam, T. L. Battista, M. S. Workentin, J. F. Corrigan, Angew. Chem., 2010, 49, 4422-4424. A Nanoscopic Polyferrocenyl 3-D Assembly: Preparation of the Structurally Characterized Triacontakaihexa(ferrocenylmethylthiolate) Cluster [Ag48(µ4-S)6(µ2/3-SCH2Fc)36].
