Abstract
Hydrogen bonds stabilize and direct chemistry performed by metalloenzymes. With inspiration from enzymes, we will utilize an approach that incorporates intramolecular hydrogen bond donors to determine their effects on the stability and reactivity of metal complexes. Our premise is that control of secondary coordination sphere interactions will promote new function in synthetic metal complexes. Multidentate ligands have been developed that create rigid organic structures around metal ions. These ligands place hydrogen bond (H-bond) donors proximal to the metal centers, forming specific microenvironments. One distinguishing attribute of these systems is that site-specific modulations in structure can be readily accomplished, in order to evaluate correlations with reactivity. A focus of this research is consideration of dioxygen binding and activation by metal complexes, including developing structure-function relationships in metal-assisted oxidative catalysis.