The Radical Fringe: Harnessing Non-innocent Ligands for Redox Control in Catalysis

School Colloquia

An ability to selectively make and break the chemical bonds in small molecules is at the root of outstanding problems in benchtop-scale organic synthesis, pharmaceuticals and commodity chemicals production, petroleum manufacturing, and energy generation and storage. Most synthetically useful bond-activation and functionalization redox reactions rely on transition metal catalysts to facilitate 2eâ€" transfer over potentially competing 1eâ€" pathways, often sacrificing kinetic facility for selectivity. We have discovered new catalytic platforms that utilize redox-active "non-innocent" ligands for unprecedented selectivity in low-barrier free radical reactions. This seminar will highlight our recent successes in applying this strategy for development of base metal Câ€"C coupling catalysts, as well as preparation of well-defined metal oxyl radicals for Oâ€"X bond forming reactions relevant to artificial photosynthesis.

For more information contact Prof. Charles Liotta (404-894-8222).