IRES Track I: Development of New Ligands and Reactions in Catalysis

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This project will support research two U.S. graduate and three U.S. undergraduate students from the University of Notre Dame to perform research in four of Germany's leading research groups at the University of Heidelberg in the area of catalysis of 16 and 10 weeks, respectively. They will work in the general area of catalysis, which is a key technology in the chemical, pharmaceutical and materials industry as indicated by the fact that ~80% of all chemical products are made using catalysis. As such, the development, investigation and application of novel catalytic reactions is essential for an economically competitive and environmentally sustainable society. The University of Heidelberg is one of the world leaders in this area as indicated by 19 chemistry Nobel Prize Awardees associated with the University of Heidelberg. The participating students will be exposed to an environment that promotes scientific and personal growth through interactions with world-class faculty and networking with one of the most important economic and scientific partners of the US. A unique feature of the program is the long-term and well-structured exchange partnership between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Heidelberg that ensures that the participating students will gain the skills and experience to thrive in today's international, interconnected world of science and business.The students will perform research in four areas that cover a wide range of computational/theoretical, organic, inorganic and materials chemistry, providing a comprehensive training environment for the students in the area of catalysis, the unifying concept of the project. Each topic is supervised by a mentor in Heidelberg who is a leader in their respective field: (i) Computational Chemistry of Materials and Excited States (Dreuw), (ii): Reaction Mechanisms involving Metalloradical Reactivity (Gade) (iii) New gold-catalyzed reactions for sustainable chemistry (Hashmi) and (iv) Metal surface catalysis in the of bottom-up generation of graphene nanoribbons (Tegeder). Working together with the groups of these leaders, the students will explore a number of innovative concepts such as novel methods for the calculation of excited states, including circular dichroism; the unusual reactivity of 3d metal complexes in T-shaped geometry, the use of gold catalysis to add value to biomass-derived chemical feedstock to improve the sustainability of organic synthesis and the targeted chemical synthesis of the carbon nanoribbons that have unique material and catalytic properties. Taken together, the studies explore different fundamental and applied aspects of catalysis using a rigorous structure- and mechanism- based approach that combines computational and experimental methods in a synergistic fashion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.