Transition Metal and Main Group Organometallic Chemistry: Synthesis and Catalysis

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Chemical catalysis is a process by which useful reactions are improved in rate, selectivity and efficiency by addition of a species that is not consumed in the reaction-the catalyst. Transition metal-based catalysts act by providing low energy pathways for making and breaking chemical bonds. For reactions that require energy to go to completion, catalysts may also harvest energy from sunlight to drive reactions forward. Discovery of catalysts that convert CO2 or H2O (two highly abundant small molecules) into useful products or fuels are at the crux of research aimed at finding solutions to major environmental (CO2 utilization) and energy (splitting of water into H2 and O2) problems that face humanity today. Our group is actively involved in the search for new catalysts and light harvesting materials and probing the detailed molecular mechanisms by which they operate. This fundamental knowledge is critical for the development of catalysts for these reactions on an industrially significant scale. This proposal focuses on three main areas of inquiry:1) Early Transition Metal Catalysts for CO2 Conversion. 2) Organometallic Approaches to Water Splitting. 3) Boron Containing Heterocycles for Materials Applications. Although these topics span the periodic table, our approach in all projects is unified by the desire to identify important reactions and study them in great detail at the molecular level. This involves conducting in-depth mechanistic studies using all of the modern spectroscopic, structural, computational and kinetic techniques available. The value of such detailed information is that development of improved, next generation catalysts is informed by precise kinetic and thermodynamic data and not trial and error. The approach also provides an excellent training ground for synthetic and mechanistic chemistry, leaving graduates with sound problem-solving skills as well as technical proficiency in the techniques of modern chemistry.