Spectroscopic investigations of electronic and geometric structure of reactive intermediates in chemistry and biology

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Our research program focuses on the geometric and electronic characterisation of important reactionintermediates involved in biological, environmental, and inorganic chemistry. A wide range of spectroscopicmethods are used in conjunction with theoretical methods to construct experimentally-valid electronic structuredescriptions of these intermediates and their reactivity. We have developed a new approach to detecting andcharacterising sulfur-based radicals in protein environments, which is allowing us novel insights into theirreactivity in biology. We are extending this approach to address important questions about the sulfur, selenium,and arsenic-based radicals in biological environments. We are furthermore exploring the electronic structure ofa series of important organometallic catalysts involved in olefin metathesis. Our initial investigations havedefined important differences in the electronic structure of N-heterocyclic carbenes as compared to phosphinesas neutral donor ligands in catalysis. We are exploring the extent of these differences and their effect onreactivity in a range of areas of importance in homogeneous catalysis.