![Deborah Kays](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/6340?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Professor Deborah Kays
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Deborah Kays
Professor
Overview
We are organometallic chemists interested in the stabilisation of highly unsaturated compounds involving earth abundant main group and transition elements. These compounds often display unusual structures and reactivities associated with their coordinative unsaturation, which we investigate in applications such as small molecule activation and valorisation, novel reaction catalysis, energy storage and magnetism.
Our research projects involve inorganic and organic synthetic methods, small molecule reactions, catalysis, in situ reaction monitoring, mechanistic investigations and magnetism, using a range of physical characterisation methods including multinuclear NMR, IR, EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and magnetochemistry, work collaboratively with other research groups.
Publication
2026
- Aljohani, Y. S. et al., 2026. Crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis, DFT, NLO, and multi-target docking of a fluorinated 1,2,3-triazole diarylmethanol (4-FPh-TM). Journal of Molecular Structure 1376 146830. (10.1016/j.molstruc.2026.146830)
- Said, M. A. et al., 2026. M‐salen complexes (M = Pd, Zn and Co) exhibit potent triple‐action bioactivity: antimicrobial, anticancer and antioxidant activities driven by monomeric design. Applied Organometallic Chemistry 40 (6) e70578. (10.1002/aoc.70578)
- Pahar, S. et al., 2026. Synthesis and structure of Group 13 POCOP complexes. Inorganic Chemistry 65 (15), pp.8289-8300. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c05278)
2024
- Churchill, O. P. et al., 2024. Synthesis of the bulky phosphanide [P(SiiPr3)2]− and its stabilization of low-coordinate group 12 complexes. Inorganic Chemistry 63 (43), pp.20286-20294. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c03134)
2023
- Geer, A. M. , Kays, D. L. and Taylor, L. J. 2023. Homogeneous carbon monoxide homologation. In: Pace, V. ed. Homologation Reactions: Reagents, Applications, and Mechanisms. Wiley. , pp.813-846. (10.1002/9783527830237.ch23)
- Geer, A. M. et al., 2023. Homotropic cooperativity in iron-catalyzed alkyne cyclotrimerizations. ACS Catalysis 13 (10), pp.6610–6618. (10.1021/acscatal.3c00764)
- Musa, A. et al., 2023. The anticancer and EGFR-TK/CDK-9 dual inhibitory potentials of new synthetic pyranopyrazole and pyrazolone derivatives: X-ray crystallography, in vitro, and in silico mechanistic investigations. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics 41 (21), pp.12411-12425. (10.1080/07391102.2023.2167000)
2022
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2022. Slow magnetic relaxation in Fe(ii) m-terphenyl complexes. Dalton Transactions 51 (47), pp.18118-18126. (10.1039/D2DT03531F)
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2022. Organoruthenium complexes containing hemilabile phosphinodicarboxamide ligands. [Online].ChemRxiv: (10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-37ncj)Available at: https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-37ncj.
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2022. Structural and electronic studies of substituted m-terphenyl group 12 complexes. Organometallics 41 (11), pp.1426-1433. (10.1021/acs.organomet.2c00156)
2021
- Huke, C. D. et al., 2021. Catalyst-free hydrophosphinylation of isocyanates and isothiocyanates under low-added-solvent conditions. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 9 (32), pp.10704–10709. (10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c02907)
- Liu, Y. et al., 2021. Group 11 m-terphenyl complexes featuring metallophilic interactions. Inorganic Chemistry 60 (14), pp.10114-10123. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c03623)
- Huke, C. and Kays, D. L. 2021. Hydrofunctionalization reactions of heterocumulenes: Formation of C–X (X = B, N, O, P, S and Si) bonds by homogeneous metal catalysts. In: Perez, P. J. ed. Advances in Organometallic Chemistry. Vol. 75, Elsevier. , pp.1-54. (10.1016/bs.adomc.2021.01.003)
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2021. Structural and electronic studies of substituted m-terphenyl lithium complexes. Dalton Transactions 50 (2), pp.722-728. (10.1039/D0DT03972A)
2020
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2020. Hydrophosphination of activated alkenes by a cobalt(I) pincer complex. Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis 362 (15), pp.3148-3157. (10.1002/adsc.202000514)
- Blundell, T. J. et al., 2020. A transition metal-gallium cluster formed: via insertion of "gaI". Chemical Communications 56 (58), pp.8139-8142. (10.1039/D0CC03559A)
- Mangham, B. et al., 2020. Influence of molecular design on radical spin multiplicity: characterisation of BODIPY dyad and triad radical anions. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 22 (8), pp.4429-4438. (10.1039/C9CP06427C)
- Hassanain, H. et al., 2020. Morpholino-substituted BODIPY species: synthesis, structure and electrochemical studies. Crystals 10 (1) 36. (10.3390/cryst10010036)
2019
- South, A. J. et al., 2019. Iron(II)-catalyzed hydroamination of isocyanates. Organometallics 38 (21), pp.4115–4120. (10.1021/acs.organomet.9b00393)
- Taylor, L. J. and Kays, D. L. 2019. Low-coordinate first-row transition metal complexes in catalysis and small molecule activation. Dalton Transactions 48 (33), pp.12365-12381. (10.1039/C9DT02402F)
- Hassanain, H. et al., 2019. Structural characterization and optical properties of two copper(i)-iodide BODIPY coordination polymers. CrystEngComm 21 (31), pp.4551-4556. (10.1039/C9CE00845D)
- Ried, A. C. A. et al., 2019. A highly active bidentate magnesium catalyst for amine‐borane dehydrocoupling: kinetic and mechanistic studies. Chemistry - A European Journal 25 (27), pp.6840-6846. (10.1002/chem.201901197)
2018
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2018. Selective reduction and homologation of carbon monoxide by organometallic iron complexes. Nature Communications 9 (1) 3757. (10.1038/s41467-018-06242-w)
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2018. Dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane mediated by group 1 pincer complexes. Chemical Communications 54 (15), pp.1825-1828. (10.1039/C7CC08385H)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2018. Dehydrocoupling of dimethylamine-borane promoted by manganese(II): m-terphenyl complexes. Catalysis Science & Technology 8 (1), pp.229-235. (10.1039/C7CY02086D)
2017
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2017. Iron(II)‐catalyzed hydrophosphination of isocyanates. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56 (17), pp.4845-4848. (10.1002/anie.201701051)
- Birchall, C. et al., 2017. A monomeric, heterobimetallic complex with an unsupported Mg–Fe bond. Inorganica Chimica Acta 458 , pp.97-100. (10.1016/j.ica.2016.12.029)
- Bradley, M. A. et al., 2017. 1,8-Bis(silylamido)naphthalene complexes of magnesium and zinc synthesised through alkane elimination reactions. Dalton Transactions 46 (12), pp.4101-4110. (10.1039/C7DT00471K)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2017. Cyclotrimerisation of isocyanates catalysed by low-coordinate Mn(ii) and Fe(ii) m-terphenyl complexes. Chemical Communications 53 (5), pp.937-940. (10.1039/C6CC07243G)
2015
- Moxey, G. J. et al., 2015. Alkaline earth complexes of a sterically demanding guanidinate ligand. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2015 (36), pp.5892-5902. (10.1002/ejic.201501239)
- Kays, D. L. 2015. Extremely bulky amide ligands in main group chemistry. Chemical Society Reviews 45 (4), pp.1004-1018. (10.1039/C5CS00513B)
- Ortu, F. et al., 2015. Tuning coordination in s-block carbazol-9-Yl complexes. Chemistry - A European Journal 21 (18), pp.6949-6956. (10.1002/chem.201406490)
2014
- Blundell, T. J. et al., 2014. Ligand influences on homoleptic group 12 m-terphenyl complexes. Dalton Transactions 43 (38), pp.14257-14264. (10.1039/C4DT00647J)
- Moxey, G. J. et al., 2014. Synthesis and characterisation of magnesium complexes containing sterically demanding N,N′-bis(aryl)amidinate ligands. Dalton Transactions 43 (12), pp.4838-4846. (10.1039/C3DT53234H)
2013
- Ortu, F. et al., 2013. Alkaline earth complexes of silylated aminopyridinato ligands: homoleptic compounds and heterobimetallic coordination polymers. Inorganic Chemistry 52 (21), pp.12429-12439. (10.1021/ic4012923)
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2013. Cubane and dicubane complexes stabilised by sterically demanding m-terphenyl ligands. Chemical Communications 49 (84), pp.9752-9754. (10.1039/C3CC46384B)
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2013. Conformational isomerism in monomeric, low-coordinate group 12 complexes stabilized by a naphthyl-substituted m-terphenyl ligand. Chemistry - A European Journal 19 (34), pp.11446-11453. (10.1002/chem.201301872)
- Moorhouse, R. S. et al., 2013. Structural diversity in alkali metal complexes of sterically demanding carbazol-9-yl ligands. Inorganic Chemistry 52 (5), pp.2678–2683. (10.1021/ic302727w)
2012
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2012. Low-coordinate cobalt(ii) terphenyl complexes: precursors to sterically encumbered ketone. Chemical Communications 48 (71), pp.8910-8912. (10.1039/C2CC34525K)
- Richards, V. J. et al., 2012. Synthesis and characterisation of BODIPY radical anions. Chemical Communications 48 (12), pp.1751-1753. (10.1039/C2CC16047A)
2011
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2011. Synthesis and characterisation of complexes of the 2,6-diphenoxyphenyl ligand. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 696 (9), pp.1787-1791. (10.1016/j.jorganchem.2010.12.023)
- Aldridge, S. , Downs, A. J. and Kays, D. L. 2011. Formal oxidation state +3: Organometallic chemistry. In: Aldridge, S. and Downs, A. J. eds. The Group 13 Metals Aluminium, Gallium, Indium and Thallium: Chemical Patterns and Peculiarities. Wiley. , pp.148-245. (10.1002/9780470976548.ch3)
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2011. Amido analogues of zincocenes and cadmocenes. Dalton Transactions 40 (8), pp.1641-1645. (10.1039/C0DT01710H)
- Kays, D. L. 2011. Recent developments in transition metal diaryl chemistry. Dalton Transactions 40 (4), pp.769-778. (10.1039/C0DT01247E)
2010
- Blake, A. et al., 2010. Bis[μ3-1,8-bis-(triisopropyl-silyl-amido)-naphthalene] -bis-(tetra-hydro-furan)di-μ3-oxido-dimanganese(III)disodium. Acta Crystallographica Section C: Crystal Structure Communications 66 (8), pp.m204-m206. (10.1107/s010827011002442x)
- Kays, D. L. 2010. The stabilisation of organometallic complexes using m-terphenyl ligands. In: Fairlamb, I. J. S. and Lynam, J. M. eds. Organometallic Chemistry. Vol. 36, Royal Society of Chemistry. , pp.56-76. (10.1039/9781847559616-00056)
- Vidovic, D. et al., 2010. Synthesis and structural characterization of terminal (diisopropylamino) borylene complexes of group 8 metals. Main Group Chemistry 9 (1-2), pp.57-65. (10.3233/mgc-2010-0005)
2009
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2009. Differing coordination environments in transition metal derivatives of 1,8-bis(silylamido)naphthalene ligands. Inorganic Chemistry 48 (22), pp.10837-10844. (10.1021/ic901745v)
- Ashley, A. E. et al., 2009. Synthesis and characterisation of low-coordinate transition-metal complexes stabilised by sterically demanding carbazolido ligands. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry (17), pp.2547-2552. (10.1002/ejic.200900170)
- De, S. et al., 2009. Reactivity of cationic terminal borylene complexes: novel mechanisms for insertion and metathesis chemistry involving strongly Lewis acidic ligand systems. Organometallics 28 (10), pp.2961-2975. (10.1021/om801214f)
- Kays, D. and Aldridge, S. 2009. Bridging the gap between coordination and cluster compounds: unusual bonding modes for zinc. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 48 (23), pp.4109-4111. (10.1002/anie.200900491)
- Pierce, G. A. et al., 2009. Half-sandwich group 8 borylene complexes: synthetic and structural studies and oxygen atom abstraction chemistry. Organometallics 28 (10), pp.2947-2960. (10.1021/om801215b)
- Zhou, B. et al., 2009. Synthesis and isolation of [Fe@Ge10]3-: a pentagonal prismatic zintl ion cage encapsulating an interstitial iron atom. Journal of the American Chemical Society 131 (8), pp.2802-2803. (10.1021/ja900055j)
2007
- Kays, D. L. and Cowley, A. R. 2007. Monomeric, two-coordinate Mn, Fe and Co(II) complexes featuring 2,6-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)phenyl ligands. Chemical Communications (10), pp.1053-1055. (10.1039/B616584B)
2006
- Buttler, O. et al., 2006. Halide abstraction by Na[B{C6H3(CF3) 2-3,5}4]: synthesis and structural characterization of the rhodium(I) cations [(η6-arene)Rh(PPh3) 2]+ (arene = benzene, toluene). Zeitschrift fur Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie 632 (14), pp.2187-2189. (10.1002/zaac.200600165)
- Aldridge, S. et al. 2006. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: structure/bonding analysis and [4+1] cycloaddition reactivity of a BN vinylidene analogue. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 45 (37), pp.6118-6122. (10.1002/anie.200602162)
- Coombs, N. D. et al., 2006. Substitution, abstraction and addition chemistry of low-coordinate gallium and indium ligand systems. Inorganica Chimica Acta 359 (11), pp.3693-3698. (10.1016/j.ica.2006.01.021)
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2006. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: Interconversion of amino and alkoxy borylenes by an unprecedented Meerwein-Ponndorf hydride transfer. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 45 (21), pp.3513-3516. (10.1002/anie.200600714)
- Aldridge, S. et al. 2006. Migratory insertion of [B(C6F5)2] into C-H bonds: CO promoted transfer of the boryl fragment. Chemical Communications (24), pp.2578-2580. (10.1039/B604141H)
- Aldridge, S. and Kays, D. L. 2006. Chemistry of metal-boron double bonds. Main Group Chemistry 5 (4), pp.223-249. (10.1080/10241220701635411)
2005
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2005. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: a synthetic and mechanistic investigation of m=b metathesis chemistry. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 44 (45), pp.7457-7460. (10.1002/anie.200502343)
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2005. Synthetic and reaction chemistry of heteroatom stabilized boryl and cationic borylene complexes. Dalton Transactions (2), pp.399-410. (10.1039/B512275A)
- Bunn, N. R. et al. 2005. Halide abstraction as a route to cationic transition-metal complexes containing two-coordinate gallium and indium ligand systems. Organometallics 24 (24), pp.5891-5900. (10.1021/om0506318)
- Bunn, N. R. et al. 2005. Toward cationic gallane- and indanediyl complexes: synthetic approaches to three-coordinate halogallyl and -indyl precursors. Organometallics 24 (24), pp.5879–5890. (10.1021/om050630f)
- Coombs, N. D. et al., 2005. Complementary anion binding by bidentate boron-containing Lewis acids. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 690 (11), pp.2725-2731. (10.1016/j.jorganchem.2005.01.015)
2004
- Al-Fawaz, A. et al., 2004. Reactivity of the bis(pentafluorophenyl)boranes ClB(C6F5)2 and [HB(C6F5)2]n towards late transition metal reagents. Dalton Transactions (23), pp.4030-4037. (10.1039/b414940h)
- Aldridge, S. et al., 2004. Carbonyl analogues? Analysis of Fe-E (E = B, Al, Ga) bonding in cationic terminal diyl complexes by density functional theory. Dalton Transactions (17), pp.2649-2654. (10.1039/B405027D)
- Bunn, N. R. et al., 2004. Fe-Ga multiple bonding? Synthesis, spectroscopic and structural characterization of a transition metal complex containing a cationic two-coordinate gallium centre. Chemical Communications (15), pp.1732-1733. (10.1039/B405943C)
- Coombs, D. L. et al. 2004. Fe=B double bonds: Synthetic, structural, and reaction chemistry of cationic terminal borylene complexes. Organometallics 23 (12), pp.2911-2926. (10.1021/om049793e)
- Aldridge, S. and Coombs, D. L. 2004. Transition metal boryl and borylene complexes: substitution and abstraction chemistry. Coordination Chemistry Reviews 248 (7-8), pp.535-559. (10.1016/j.ccr.2003.12.003)
2003
- Coombs, D. et al. 2003. Influence of ligand steric bulk in the synthesis of transition-metal borylene complexes. Organometallics 22 (21), pp.4213-4217. (10.1021/om030489f)
- Aldridge, S. , Coombs, D. and Jones, C. 2003. trans-Bromohydridobis(triphenylphosphine)platinum toluene hemisolvate. Acta Crystallographica Section E - Structure Reports Online 59 (8), pp.m584-m585. (10.1107/S1600536803014995)
- Coombs, D. L. , Aldridge, S. and Jones, C. 2003. Substitution chemistry of sterically demanding boryl ligands. Applied Organometallic Chemistry 17 (6-7), pp.356-360. (10.1002/aoc.426)
- Coombs, D. L. et al. 2003. Cationic terminal borylenes by halide abstraction: Synthesis and spectroscopic and structural characterization of an FeB double bond. Journal of the American Chemical Society 125 (21), pp.6356-6357. (10.1021/ja0346936)
2002
- Coombs, D. , Aldridge, S. and Jones, C. 2002. Synthetic, structural and reaction chemistry of transition metal complexes containing the mesitylborylene ligand. Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions (20), pp.3851-3858. (10.1039/b206348b)
- Aldridge, S. et al., 2002. Intramolecular base-stabilised adducts of main group halides. New Journal of Chemistry 26 (6), pp.677-686. (10.1039/b110692a)
- Aldridge, S. , Coombs, D. L. and Jones, C. 2002. [(n5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2]2B(2,4,6-Me3C6H2): synthesis, spectroscopic and structural characterization of a transition metal complex containing an unsupported bridging borylene ligand. Chemical Communications (8), pp.856-857. (10.1039/b201415g)
Articles
- Aljohani, Y. S. et al., 2026. Crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis, DFT, NLO, and multi-target docking of a fluorinated 1,2,3-triazole diarylmethanol (4-FPh-TM). Journal of Molecular Structure 1376 146830. (10.1016/j.molstruc.2026.146830)
- Said, M. A. et al., 2026. M‐salen complexes (M = Pd, Zn and Co) exhibit potent triple‐action bioactivity: antimicrobial, anticancer and antioxidant activities driven by monomeric design. Applied Organometallic Chemistry 40 (6) e70578. (10.1002/aoc.70578)
- Pahar, S. et al., 2026. Synthesis and structure of Group 13 POCOP complexes. Inorganic Chemistry 65 (15), pp.8289-8300. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c05278)
- Churchill, O. P. et al., 2024. Synthesis of the bulky phosphanide [P(SiiPr3)2]− and its stabilization of low-coordinate group 12 complexes. Inorganic Chemistry 63 (43), pp.20286-20294. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c03134)
- Geer, A. M. et al., 2023. Homotropic cooperativity in iron-catalyzed alkyne cyclotrimerizations. ACS Catalysis 13 (10), pp.6610–6618. (10.1021/acscatal.3c00764)
- Musa, A. et al., 2023. The anticancer and EGFR-TK/CDK-9 dual inhibitory potentials of new synthetic pyranopyrazole and pyrazolone derivatives: X-ray crystallography, in vitro, and in silico mechanistic investigations. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics 41 (21), pp.12411-12425. (10.1080/07391102.2023.2167000)
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2022. Slow magnetic relaxation in Fe(ii) m-terphenyl complexes. Dalton Transactions 51 (47), pp.18118-18126. (10.1039/D2DT03531F)
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2022. Structural and electronic studies of substituted m-terphenyl group 12 complexes. Organometallics 41 (11), pp.1426-1433. (10.1021/acs.organomet.2c00156)
- Huke, C. D. et al., 2021. Catalyst-free hydrophosphinylation of isocyanates and isothiocyanates under low-added-solvent conditions. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 9 (32), pp.10704–10709. (10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c02907)
- Liu, Y. et al., 2021. Group 11 m-terphenyl complexes featuring metallophilic interactions. Inorganic Chemistry 60 (14), pp.10114-10123. (10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c03623)
- Valentine, A. J. et al., 2021. Structural and electronic studies of substituted m-terphenyl lithium complexes. Dalton Transactions 50 (2), pp.722-728. (10.1039/D0DT03972A)
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2020. Hydrophosphination of activated alkenes by a cobalt(I) pincer complex. Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis 362 (15), pp.3148-3157. (10.1002/adsc.202000514)
- Blundell, T. J. et al., 2020. A transition metal-gallium cluster formed: via insertion of "gaI". Chemical Communications 56 (58), pp.8139-8142. (10.1039/D0CC03559A)
- Mangham, B. et al., 2020. Influence of molecular design on radical spin multiplicity: characterisation of BODIPY dyad and triad radical anions. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 22 (8), pp.4429-4438. (10.1039/C9CP06427C)
- Hassanain, H. et al., 2020. Morpholino-substituted BODIPY species: synthesis, structure and electrochemical studies. Crystals 10 (1) 36. (10.3390/cryst10010036)
- South, A. J. et al., 2019. Iron(II)-catalyzed hydroamination of isocyanates. Organometallics 38 (21), pp.4115–4120. (10.1021/acs.organomet.9b00393)
- Taylor, L. J. and Kays, D. L. 2019. Low-coordinate first-row transition metal complexes in catalysis and small molecule activation. Dalton Transactions 48 (33), pp.12365-12381. (10.1039/C9DT02402F)
- Hassanain, H. et al., 2019. Structural characterization and optical properties of two copper(i)-iodide BODIPY coordination polymers. CrystEngComm 21 (31), pp.4551-4556. (10.1039/C9CE00845D)
- Ried, A. C. A. et al., 2019. A highly active bidentate magnesium catalyst for amine‐borane dehydrocoupling: kinetic and mechanistic studies. Chemistry - A European Journal 25 (27), pp.6840-6846. (10.1002/chem.201901197)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2018. Selective reduction and homologation of carbon monoxide by organometallic iron complexes. Nature Communications 9 (1) 3757. (10.1038/s41467-018-06242-w)
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2018. Dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane mediated by group 1 pincer complexes. Chemical Communications 54 (15), pp.1825-1828. (10.1039/C7CC08385H)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2018. Dehydrocoupling of dimethylamine-borane promoted by manganese(II): m-terphenyl complexes. Catalysis Science & Technology 8 (1), pp.229-235. (10.1039/C7CY02086D)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2017. Iron(II)‐catalyzed hydrophosphination of isocyanates. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56 (17), pp.4845-4848. (10.1002/anie.201701051)
- Birchall, C. et al., 2017. A monomeric, heterobimetallic complex with an unsupported Mg–Fe bond. Inorganica Chimica Acta 458 , pp.97-100. (10.1016/j.ica.2016.12.029)
- Bradley, M. A. et al., 2017. 1,8-Bis(silylamido)naphthalene complexes of magnesium and zinc synthesised through alkane elimination reactions. Dalton Transactions 46 (12), pp.4101-4110. (10.1039/C7DT00471K)
- Sharpe, H. R. et al., 2017. Cyclotrimerisation of isocyanates catalysed by low-coordinate Mn(ii) and Fe(ii) m-terphenyl complexes. Chemical Communications 53 (5), pp.937-940. (10.1039/C6CC07243G)
- Moxey, G. J. et al., 2015. Alkaline earth complexes of a sterically demanding guanidinate ligand. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2015 (36), pp.5892-5902. (10.1002/ejic.201501239)
- Kays, D. L. 2015. Extremely bulky amide ligands in main group chemistry. Chemical Society Reviews 45 (4), pp.1004-1018. (10.1039/C5CS00513B)
- Ortu, F. et al., 2015. Tuning coordination in s-block carbazol-9-Yl complexes. Chemistry - A European Journal 21 (18), pp.6949-6956. (10.1002/chem.201406490)
- Blundell, T. J. et al., 2014. Ligand influences on homoleptic group 12 m-terphenyl complexes. Dalton Transactions 43 (38), pp.14257-14264. (10.1039/C4DT00647J)
- Moxey, G. J. et al., 2014. Synthesis and characterisation of magnesium complexes containing sterically demanding N,N′-bis(aryl)amidinate ligands. Dalton Transactions 43 (12), pp.4838-4846. (10.1039/C3DT53234H)
- Ortu, F. et al., 2013. Alkaline earth complexes of silylated aminopyridinato ligands: homoleptic compounds and heterobimetallic coordination polymers. Inorganic Chemistry 52 (21), pp.12429-12439. (10.1021/ic4012923)
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2013. Cubane and dicubane complexes stabilised by sterically demanding m-terphenyl ligands. Chemical Communications 49 (84), pp.9752-9754. (10.1039/C3CC46384B)
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2013. Conformational isomerism in monomeric, low-coordinate group 12 complexes stabilized by a naphthyl-substituted m-terphenyl ligand. Chemistry - A European Journal 19 (34), pp.11446-11453. (10.1002/chem.201301872)
- Moorhouse, R. S. et al., 2013. Structural diversity in alkali metal complexes of sterically demanding carbazol-9-yl ligands. Inorganic Chemistry 52 (5), pp.2678–2683. (10.1021/ic302727w)
- Gridley, B. M. et al., 2012. Low-coordinate cobalt(ii) terphenyl complexes: precursors to sterically encumbered ketone. Chemical Communications 48 (71), pp.8910-8912. (10.1039/C2CC34525K)
- Richards, V. J. et al., 2012. Synthesis and characterisation of BODIPY radical anions. Chemical Communications 48 (12), pp.1751-1753. (10.1039/C2CC16047A)
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2011. Synthesis and characterisation of complexes of the 2,6-diphenoxyphenyl ligand. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 696 (9), pp.1787-1791. (10.1016/j.jorganchem.2010.12.023)
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2011. Amido analogues of zincocenes and cadmocenes. Dalton Transactions 40 (8), pp.1641-1645. (10.1039/C0DT01710H)
- Kays, D. L. 2011. Recent developments in transition metal diaryl chemistry. Dalton Transactions 40 (4), pp.769-778. (10.1039/C0DT01247E)
- Blake, A. et al., 2010. Bis[μ3-1,8-bis-(triisopropyl-silyl-amido)-naphthalene] -bis-(tetra-hydro-furan)di-μ3-oxido-dimanganese(III)disodium. Acta Crystallographica Section C: Crystal Structure Communications 66 (8), pp.m204-m206. (10.1107/s010827011002442x)
- Vidovic, D. et al., 2010. Synthesis and structural characterization of terminal (diisopropylamino) borylene complexes of group 8 metals. Main Group Chemistry 9 (1-2), pp.57-65. (10.3233/mgc-2010-0005)
- Blake, A. J. et al., 2009. Differing coordination environments in transition metal derivatives of 1,8-bis(silylamido)naphthalene ligands. Inorganic Chemistry 48 (22), pp.10837-10844. (10.1021/ic901745v)
- Ashley, A. E. et al., 2009. Synthesis and characterisation of low-coordinate transition-metal complexes stabilised by sterically demanding carbazolido ligands. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry (17), pp.2547-2552. (10.1002/ejic.200900170)
- De, S. et al., 2009. Reactivity of cationic terminal borylene complexes: novel mechanisms for insertion and metathesis chemistry involving strongly Lewis acidic ligand systems. Organometallics 28 (10), pp.2961-2975. (10.1021/om801214f)
- Kays, D. and Aldridge, S. 2009. Bridging the gap between coordination and cluster compounds: unusual bonding modes for zinc. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 48 (23), pp.4109-4111. (10.1002/anie.200900491)
- Pierce, G. A. et al., 2009. Half-sandwich group 8 borylene complexes: synthetic and structural studies and oxygen atom abstraction chemistry. Organometallics 28 (10), pp.2947-2960. (10.1021/om801215b)
- Zhou, B. et al., 2009. Synthesis and isolation of [Fe@Ge10]3-: a pentagonal prismatic zintl ion cage encapsulating an interstitial iron atom. Journal of the American Chemical Society 131 (8), pp.2802-2803. (10.1021/ja900055j)
- Kays, D. L. and Cowley, A. R. 2007. Monomeric, two-coordinate Mn, Fe and Co(II) complexes featuring 2,6-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)phenyl ligands. Chemical Communications (10), pp.1053-1055. (10.1039/B616584B)
- Buttler, O. et al., 2006. Halide abstraction by Na[B{C6H3(CF3) 2-3,5}4]: synthesis and structural characterization of the rhodium(I) cations [(η6-arene)Rh(PPh3) 2]+ (arene = benzene, toluene). Zeitschrift fur Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie 632 (14), pp.2187-2189. (10.1002/zaac.200600165)
- Aldridge, S. et al. 2006. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: structure/bonding analysis and [4+1] cycloaddition reactivity of a BN vinylidene analogue. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 45 (37), pp.6118-6122. (10.1002/anie.200602162)
- Coombs, N. D. et al., 2006. Substitution, abstraction and addition chemistry of low-coordinate gallium and indium ligand systems. Inorganica Chimica Acta 359 (11), pp.3693-3698. (10.1016/j.ica.2006.01.021)
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2006. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: Interconversion of amino and alkoxy borylenes by an unprecedented Meerwein-Ponndorf hydride transfer. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 45 (21), pp.3513-3516. (10.1002/anie.200600714)
- Aldridge, S. et al. 2006. Migratory insertion of [B(C6F5)2] into C-H bonds: CO promoted transfer of the boryl fragment. Chemical Communications (24), pp.2578-2580. (10.1039/B604141H)
- Aldridge, S. and Kays, D. L. 2006. Chemistry of metal-boron double bonds. Main Group Chemistry 5 (4), pp.223-249. (10.1080/10241220701635411)
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2005. Cationic terminal borylene complexes: a synthetic and mechanistic investigation of m=b metathesis chemistry. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 44 (45), pp.7457-7460. (10.1002/anie.200502343)
- Kays, D. L. et al. 2005. Synthetic and reaction chemistry of heteroatom stabilized boryl and cationic borylene complexes. Dalton Transactions (2), pp.399-410. (10.1039/B512275A)
- Bunn, N. R. et al. 2005. Halide abstraction as a route to cationic transition-metal complexes containing two-coordinate gallium and indium ligand systems. Organometallics 24 (24), pp.5891-5900. (10.1021/om0506318)
- Bunn, N. R. et al. 2005. Toward cationic gallane- and indanediyl complexes: synthetic approaches to three-coordinate halogallyl and -indyl precursors. Organometallics 24 (24), pp.5879–5890. (10.1021/om050630f)
- Coombs, N. D. et al., 2005. Complementary anion binding by bidentate boron-containing Lewis acids. Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 690 (11), pp.2725-2731. (10.1016/j.jorganchem.2005.01.015)
- Al-Fawaz, A. et al., 2004. Reactivity of the bis(pentafluorophenyl)boranes ClB(C6F5)2 and [HB(C6F5)2]n towards late transition metal reagents. Dalton Transactions (23), pp.4030-4037. (10.1039/b414940h)
- Aldridge, S. et al., 2004. Carbonyl analogues? Analysis of Fe-E (E = B, Al, Ga) bonding in cationic terminal diyl complexes by density functional theory. Dalton Transactions (17), pp.2649-2654. (10.1039/B405027D)
- Bunn, N. R. et al., 2004. Fe-Ga multiple bonding? Synthesis, spectroscopic and structural characterization of a transition metal complex containing a cationic two-coordinate gallium centre. Chemical Communications (15), pp.1732-1733. (10.1039/B405943C)
- Coombs, D. L. et al. 2004. Fe=B double bonds: Synthetic, structural, and reaction chemistry of cationic terminal borylene complexes. Organometallics 23 (12), pp.2911-2926. (10.1021/om049793e)
- Aldridge, S. and Coombs, D. L. 2004. Transition metal boryl and borylene complexes: substitution and abstraction chemistry. Coordination Chemistry Reviews 248 (7-8), pp.535-559. (10.1016/j.ccr.2003.12.003)
- Coombs, D. et al. 2003. Influence of ligand steric bulk in the synthesis of transition-metal borylene complexes. Organometallics 22 (21), pp.4213-4217. (10.1021/om030489f)
- Aldridge, S. , Coombs, D. and Jones, C. 2003. trans-Bromohydridobis(triphenylphosphine)platinum toluene hemisolvate. Acta Crystallographica Section E - Structure Reports Online 59 (8), pp.m584-m585. (10.1107/S1600536803014995)
- Coombs, D. L. , Aldridge, S. and Jones, C. 2003. Substitution chemistry of sterically demanding boryl ligands. Applied Organometallic Chemistry 17 (6-7), pp.356-360. (10.1002/aoc.426)
- Coombs, D. L. et al. 2003. Cationic terminal borylenes by halide abstraction: Synthesis and spectroscopic and structural characterization of an FeB double bond. Journal of the American Chemical Society 125 (21), pp.6356-6357. (10.1021/ja0346936)
- Coombs, D. , Aldridge, S. and Jones, C. 2002. Synthetic, structural and reaction chemistry of transition metal complexes containing the mesitylborylene ligand. Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions (20), pp.3851-3858. (10.1039/b206348b)
- Aldridge, S. et al., 2002. Intramolecular base-stabilised adducts of main group halides. New Journal of Chemistry 26 (6), pp.677-686. (10.1039/b110692a)
- Aldridge, S. , Coombs, D. L. and Jones, C. 2002. [(n5-C5H5)Fe(CO)2]2B(2,4,6-Me3C6H2): synthesis, spectroscopic and structural characterization of a transition metal complex containing an unsupported bridging borylene ligand. Chemical Communications (8), pp.856-857. (10.1039/b201415g)
Book sections
- Geer, A. M. , Kays, D. L. and Taylor, L. J. 2023. Homogeneous carbon monoxide homologation. In: Pace, V. ed. Homologation Reactions: Reagents, Applications, and Mechanisms. Wiley. , pp.813-846. (10.1002/9783527830237.ch23)
- Huke, C. and Kays, D. L. 2021. Hydrofunctionalization reactions of heterocumulenes: Formation of C–X (X = B, N, O, P, S and Si) bonds by homogeneous metal catalysts. In: Perez, P. J. ed. Advances in Organometallic Chemistry. Vol. 75, Elsevier. , pp.1-54. (10.1016/bs.adomc.2021.01.003)
- Aldridge, S. , Downs, A. J. and Kays, D. L. 2011. Formal oxidation state +3: Organometallic chemistry. In: Aldridge, S. and Downs, A. J. eds. The Group 13 Metals Aluminium, Gallium, Indium and Thallium: Chemical Patterns and Peculiarities. Wiley. , pp.148-245. (10.1002/9780470976548.ch3)
- Kays, D. L. 2010. The stabilisation of organometallic complexes using m-terphenyl ligands. In: Fairlamb, I. J. S. and Lynam, J. M. eds. Organometallic Chemistry. Vol. 36, Royal Society of Chemistry. , pp.56-76. (10.1039/9781847559616-00056)
Websites
- Nolla-Saltiel, R. et al., 2022. Organoruthenium complexes containing hemilabile phosphinodicarboxamide ligands. [Online].ChemRxiv: (10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-37ncj)Available at: https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-37ncj.
Research
Our research group is interested in the synthesis of low-coordinate organometallic complexes featuring main group or transition elements, these highly reactive compounds being stabilised by sterically demanding ligand systems. We are particularly interested in the exploitation of the unusual structures of these compounds and the investigation of fundamental patterns of reactivity under stoichiometric and catalytic regimes. Some representative projects within our research group involve:
- Scission and homologation reactions of small molecules, valorisation
- Earth abundant transition metal complexes for catalytic applications, e.g. heterofunctionalisation, cyclotrimerisation
- Organometallic complexes for energy storage and catalysis
- Multidentate ligand design for heterobimetallic complexes
- Low-coordinate complexes for single molecule magnetism
Biography
MChem Chemistry (2000) and PhD (2004, S. Aldridge) at Cardiff University. Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cardiff University (2003-2005, S. Aldridge). Junior Research Fellow, Merton College, University of Oxford (2005-2007, with D. O’Hare). Appointed Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry at University of Nottingham in 2007, promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and to Professor in 2019. Appointed as Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and Head of School of Chemistry at Cardiff University in 2024.
Honours and awards
RSC Chemistry of the Transition Metals Award 2018
Professional memberships
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
