The CEPTr research program aims to isolate rare late transition element (TM) complexes with terminal oxo (O^2-) ligands, using the combined electron and proton transfer as the lynchpin for their successful synthesis. Crucial to this endeavor is a new family of ligand scaffolds called f-CArAC (fused – Cyclic Aryl Amino Carbenes) which are able to support afore-mentioned complexes in both low and high oxidation states and with low coordination numbers. Furthermore, complexes of these late TMs supported by f-CArAC’s but featuring terminal imido (NR^2-) ligands will also be investigated, due to the imido-oxo isolobal analogy. The results of these studies will be used to activate strong C-H bonds with the ultimate goal being the transformation of methane to methanol in one step.