Professor Jose Goicoechea from the University of Ozford will deliver a seminar entitled "From Chemical Curiosities to Versatile Reagents: Heavy Group 15 Analogues of the Cyanate Ion".

Abstract: The 2-phospha- and 2-arsaethynolate anions (PCO− and AsCO−, respectively) have recently become synthetically accessible on multi-gram scales. These heavier analogues of the cyanate ion are rare species in that they contain highly reactive pnictogen–carbon multiple bonds, yet can be manipulated with ease due to their negative charges (which preclude common decomposition pathways associated with isoelectronic species such as phosphaalkynes, P≡C–R). This seminar will survey recent reactivity studies on these remarkable anionic species highlighting their enormous chemical versatility for the synthesis of novel molecular compounds, clusters and materials.