Through mechanistic understanding of reactive copper intermediates, we develop new reactions to directly convert sp3 C-H to C-C, C-N, C-O, and C-S bonds.
Ammonia is a carbon-free fuel produced on a scale of over 150 M tons / year. We examine the fundamental chemistry of N-H and N-N bond cleavage and formation as we develop molecular electrocatalysts based on Earth abundant metals such as iron and copper.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a powerful signaling molecule with far reaching effects. Inspired by Cu and Zn environments in biology, we employ synthetic models that outline pathways to interconvert molecules in NO signaling such as nitrate, nitrite, and S-nitrosothiols (RSNO).