Abstract: My group studies the coordination chemistry and reactivity of novel Mn, Fe, and Ru complexes with the goal of designing sustainable catalysts for chemically reversible transformations involving molecular hydrogen. For example, we studied the photochemical production of dihydrogen from water using a tetrameric Mn(I) complex and made some interesting discoveries along the way. In addition, a significant effort in my group is ligand design and synthesis where our main goal is to bring out the unique properties of various transition metals (such as Mn, Fe, and Ru).
Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) metalloenzymes activate strong C─H bonds (~100 kcal/mol) of polysaccharides such as cellulose. Nature has evolved the ability to perform these thermodynamically difficult processes within LPMO using an active site composed of a single copper ion coordinated to the protein in a T-shaped geometry referred to as the histidine brace. Inspiration from LPMOs has led to the development of synthetic systems to perform multi-electron chemistry using copper complexes.