Structural studies of iridium hydrides. Part 2.

Oil is currently the primary raw material for all the carbon containing chemicals we take for granted and which are necessary for our modern life: pharmaceuticals, plastics, food additives, pesticides etc. Today the more unreactive molecules in oil, alkanes, must first be converted into more reactive molecules, alkenes, in high temperature processes that are energetically demanding and go with low selectivity. These alkenes are then one of the main starting materials in the making of organic molecules and we need to learn how to convert alkanes to alkenes in a milder and more selective way. Using various iridium compounds, especially those containing an iridium-hydrogen bond, alkanes can be transformed into alkenes in a mild way. This project is about studying the catalysts, the iridium hydrides, to learn more about what controls their structure and in the long run their reactivity.