Inorganic
Inorganic chemistry deals with the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds (carbon- based comounds, usually containing C-H bonds), which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disciplines is far from absolute, as there is much overlap in the subdiscipline or organometallic chemistry. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry, including catalysis, materials science, pigments, sufactants, coatings, medications, fuels, and agriculture.
FACULTY IN THIS RESEARCH AREA:
Dr. Roman Belli - Research in the Belli Group will focus on developing sustainable alternatives for the synthesis and application of inorganic and main group compounds. This research program is motivated to develop more efficient chemical processes, obviate the use of toxic and hazardous chemicals in industrial processes and by an awareness of the scarcity of endangered and/or technology critical elements.
Chlorine-free functionalization of main group elements: A primary method to make value-added compounds of main group elements such as P, Si and Ge relies on the use of chlorine gas (Cl2) to generate the corresponding chlorides of these elements which are easy to functionalize. To obviate the use of toxic and hazardous Cl2, we will develop chlorine-free methods to functionalize main group elements into the value-added compounds we need of them. This will be achieved using abundant chemical feedstocks as well as photocatalysis and mechanochemistry.
Metal-nitrenium chemistry for atom-economical N–C bond forming reactions: Nitrogen-containing compounds have many applications such as in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Thus, developing new methods to construct N–C bonds is incredibly important. One overlooked species in this regard are electrophilic nitreniums (R2N+), where the first metal complex with a nitrenium ligand was only reported in 2011. We will explore fundamentally new ways to generate nitrenium ligands at metal centres and explore their utility in atom-economical N–C bond forming reactions
Dr. Jamie Ritch - Inorganic Compound Discovery for Materials Science and Catalysis
Issues such as renewable energy and pollution management continue to provide challenges for scientists. Synthetic chemistry provides access to novel compounds with properties that can be tailored to specific applications, such as these areas of current interest. We are interested in designing main group element-based ligands, to take advantage of the wide variety of chemical behaviour found in the s- and p-blocks of the periodic table. The coordination chemistry of ligands containing the heavy chalcogens selenium and tellurium is being investigated. Such complexes are of fundamental interest in terms of bonding and structure, but also as precursors to solid state materials for use in advanced electronics. Another ligand system being explored involves compounds with both Lewis basic and acidic centres. Molecules with such arrangements can act as a scaffold to engender unusual reactivity in otherwise inert molecules, such as hydrocarbons or CO2. This type of chemical activation is highly desirable for catalytic organic transformations.
Dr. Christopher Wiebe - Characterization of New Magnetic Oxides
Dr. Wiebe is interested in the synthesis and characterization of new magnetic oxides. As a former faculty member of Florida State University, he is currently supervising several graduate students in his synthesis and crystal growth lab there. He is also in the process of establishing a solid state chemistry lab here at the University of 澳门王中王论坛.
His primary interest is in what is called strongly correlated electron systems, or materials which have unusual magnetic or electrical behavior. These include functional materials, such as new solid state batteries, multiferroics, or superconductors, but they also include systems of theoretical interest, such as geometrically frustrated magnets, low dimensional compounds, and heavy fermion compounds. As an experimentalist, his main methods of characterization include diffraction techniques such as x-ray scattering and neutron scattering, but the bulk of his time is spent on the synthesis and crystal growth of these new materials here at the University of 澳门王中王论坛.