Advances in alkaline earth-nitrogen chemistry

This article provides a concise summary of alkaline earth metal nitrogen chemistry. This important area of s-block metal chemistry is shedding important light on the recent development of alkaline earth metal chemistry, as the preparation of the target compounds utilizes a large variety of synthetic methodology. Further, the compounds have been utilized in a range of applications, including polymerization initiation, catalysis, as solid-state precursors, and even high energy materials.

Graphical abstractThe scope of nitrogen-based alkaline earth metal chemistry has dramatically expanded in recent years, with advances being driven by the availability of synthetic methodologies that allow the preparation of the highly reactive alkaline earth metal compounds. The result is a growing number of compounds enabling a greater understanding of the factors affecting metal coordination and stability and thus structure/function relationships. The design of nitrogen-based ligand systems is of interest for a variety of applications of alkaline earth metals including film growth by deposition, polymerization catalysts, high energy materials, and synthesis. This review covers recent contributions to nitrogen-based alkaline earth metal chemistry with a focus on metal stabilization through donors and secondary interactions.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (114 K)Download as PowerPoint slide