Research Topic: Synthesis of Intermetallic Clusters via External Reducing Agents and their Reactivity towards Small Molecules

The aim of my project is the exploration of intermetallic clusters composed of transition metals (TM) and group 13 metals (E) by using external reducing agents (i.e. metals and metal-hydrides). Via this rather non-typical approach, the aim is to access new types of intermetallic clusters with mixed-metal cores to further investigate their reactivity towards small molecules (i.e. H₂, CO₂). Within this project, I focus mainly on the formation of cobalt-containing clusters, since this transition metal is rather unexplored regarding the synthesis of such hydrocarbon-ligated TM/E clusters. Moreover, cobalt is of high interest, i.e. as catalyst for the Fischer-Tropsch process or as (de-)hydrogenation catalyst.