Join Yale Chemistry for a Silliman Inorganic Chemistry Seminar with Alexandra Velian, Assistant Professor, University of Washington.
Title: Molecular Catalysts Go Nano: Installing Active Sites on Clusters and Nanosheets
A special focus in our group is to introduce molecular precision in the synthesis of single-site catalysts by embedding well-defined metal centers on the surface of van der Waals inorganic nanosheets and atomically precise clusters. These platformsare selected as they foster structural and electronic cooperativity between active site and support, offering the potential to maximize catalytic activity and selectivity.
The first part of this talk will introduce a class of atomically precise nanoclusters distinguished by the presence of discrete active sites that engage dynamically with the non-innocent metal chalcogenide cluster support, and the organic substrates. This family of nanoclusters provides atom-level insights into the metal/support interface, revealing how the ensuing cooperativity can be harnessed to alter catalytic activity. Additionally, this platform enables us to uncover how allosteric effects govern the reactivity patterns of multiple, chemically identical, neighboring active sites. The second part of the talk will introduce an orthogonal approach to single-site catalyst synthesis, in which the basic principles of organometallic-phosphine chemistry are harnessed to anchor single active sites on the surface of two-dimensional black phosphorus nanosheets. Molecular synthesis and characterization strategies are leveraged to probe the bonding and functionality of the modified surfaces with increased detail.
Date: November 13, 2023
Time: 4 pm
Location: SCL 110
Faculty Host: James Mayer
This seminar is generously sponsored by the Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Fund