Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2013
Within an inverse design approach applied to a nitrogen-fixation catalyst we discuss options for calculating “jacket” potentials that fulfill a purpose-oriented target requirement. As a target requirement we choose the vanishing geometric gradients on all atoms of a subsystem consisting of a metal center binding the small molecule to be activated - in our case dinitrogen. The additional potential can be represented within a full quantum model or by a sequence of approximations of which a field of electrostatic point charges is the simplest. In order to analyze the feasibility of this approach, we dissect a known dinitrogen-fixating complex and analyze its ligand environment expressed by the “jacket” potential. It is discussed how this ligand-bypotential replacement can be generalized for future applications that eventually allow us to find a competitive synthetic nitrogen-fixation transition metal complex. It can be expected that such a ligand-by-potential replacement approach will be applicable to any type of host-guest chemical process.