Transition metal complexes for homogeneous catalysis

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The students in my group are synthetic chemists who make metal-containing compounds that act as catalysts (that is, accelerate reactions that are otherwise slow or energy intensive). The two main questions we are addressing with these compounds are: "Can we make new polymeric materials (plastics) from renewable starting materials (feedstocks) such as carbon dioxide?" and, "Can we make compounds that catalyze the formation of new C-C bonds without using expensive or toxic metals?" The reason for asking the first question is that most modern plastics are made from non-renewable petrochemical sources. Our research will use alternative starting materials that can be economically obtained from renewable materials, such as plants, or from waste products, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2, however, is a very stable molecule and often requires forcing conditions (such as long reaction times, very high temperatures or pressures) for it to be used in chemical reactions. We will use metal-containing catalysts to make plastics, such as polycarbonates, from CO2 in a more rapid and energy efficient manner. These plastics also have the advantage of being biodegradable. The second question arises because most of the current technology for making C-C bonds (which comprises a large percentage of the transformations used by the pharmaceutical industry to make drugs) uses expensive and toxic palladium catalysts. The need for more economic, less toxic alternatives has brought iron-based catalysts to the forefront. We are developing new iron catalysts that accelerate the formation of C-C bonds between reactants under mild conditions. This demonstrates that organic compounds such as pharmaceuticals can be made using less toxic and expensive catalysts. I will develop a sound program of fundamental research with important potential applications in new, biodegradable materials and methods for organic synthesis. Students trained in this program will learn "green" principles in modern chemistry and acquire skills in the synthesis and characterization of catalysts, polymers and organic compounds.