Developments in Alkaline Earth Hydride Chemistry: Towards Novel Heterobimetallic Complexes

This thesis describes the synthesis and reactivity of new alkaline earth hydrido and heterobimetallic complexes. Alkaline earth species hold great potential for use in greener chemical transformations, though their development and applications remain in their infancy. A range of alkaline earth hydrides and related bimetallic species bearing stabilising groups have been developed as part of this work. The reactivity of these compounds is assessed towards building larger and more complex value-added products.