Location: SCL 110
Join Yale Chemistry for a Physical Chemistry Seminar with Leif Hammarström, Professor at Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory.
Abstract: Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions are of fundamental importance in energy transformation reactions in natural and artificial systems and are increasingly recognized in areas such as catalysis and photoredox catalysis. The interdependence of proton and electron transfer brings a mechanistic richness of reactivity, including various sequential and concerted mechanisms. This has substantial impact on the reaction rate, due to modulations of the reaction energy barrier as well as the strong dependence on the distance the proton has to tunnel during the reaction. I will discuss how to experimentally delineate between different PCET-mechanisms, with examples from synthetic radical proteins1, metal-hydrides2 and small organic model systems3. I will discuss why a particular mechanism dominates, an understanding which is crucial for the design and optimization of reactions that use PCET.4 I will also discuss our collaborative work where we recently discovered a novel elementary reaction, which we denoted Proton-Coupled Energy Transfer (PCEnT).5 The understanding of PCEnT reactions and their wider implications are now under active investigation.
This seminar is generously sponsored by the Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Fund