1) Selective and Catalytic Organic Transformations Mediated by Transition-Metal Complexes. This area of research will focus on manipulating chemical bonds with transition-metal complexes to develop new reactions that are synthetically and industrially useful. Not only is the group investigating new C-X bond coupling reactions (X = C, H, N, O, S), but we are also studying bond-breaking processes and atom transfer reactions as routes to target molecules. Students will learn to carefully design ligands for transition-metal complexes that will predispose the metal center to carry out a desired chemical transformation. In many cases, forcing a metal to adopt an unconventional geometry can lead to unusual reactivity, and we hope to be able to fine-tune such reactivity towards useful transformations. Click here for a PDF file containing detailed information about our development of paramagnetic nickel complexes for use in organic synthesis.

2) Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Nowadays, the fields of organic and inorganic chemistry are intimately related. New catalysts must often be prepared under strict anaerobic conditions using traditional inorganic techniques. Additionally, support for a particular mechanism of a metal-mediated organic transformation is facilitated by preparing viable inorganic and organometallic intermediates and testing for their competency. Students will learn how to prepare new "inorganic functional groups" and explore the structures, properties, and reactivities of these new groups. Sometimes, completely new bonding modes of common atoms can be discovered, like this hydride ligand that displays linear bonding between two metal centers!

3) Bio-inorganic Coordination Chemistry. This project will explore the binding and reactivity of transition-metals in biomolecules. Goals include: 1) directing ordered structures of small artificial peptides by transition-metal ion binding 2) catalyzing enantioselective reactions with transition-metals intimately bound to peptides or nucleic acids 3) probing the electronic properties of peptides and nucleic acids by metal-mediated electron-transfer reactions.

 

Take a look at some of the state-of-the-art equipment we use at Hawaii

---