Hybrid

Electronic Structure Contributions to the Ground- and Excited-State Reactivity of Nickel Cross-Coupling Catalysts

Mon Oct 27, 2025 4:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m.
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Sterling Chemistry Laboratory
225 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511

Location: Sterling Chemistry Lab (SCL), Room 111

Please join Yale Chemistry for a Silliman Seminar in inorganic chemistry with Prof. Ryan G. Hadt, Professor of Chemistry at Caltech.

Abstract: Cross-coupling reactions enable the construction of new C–X bonds (X = C, N, O, F, etc.) necessary for the synthesis of existing pharmaceuticals and new drug candidates. While precious metal catalysts are largely used on an industrial scale, the combination of the disparate electron transfer properties of earth abundant first-row transition metal catalysts and the possibility of harnessing light energy to generate uniquely reactive electronic states represents an attractive, sustainable approach to accessing new mechanistic possibilities. This seminar will discuss our ongoing efforts to combine spectroscopic and multiconfigurational computational approaches to define electronic structure contributions to ground-state Ni-catalyzed cross-couplings and to further understand the specific excited-state potential energy surfaces involved in sustainable light-driven syntheses. Specific emphases will be on understanding excited-state bond homolysis mechanisms and developing synthesis guiding structure-function relationships related to the role of reaction conditions and the reactivity of catalytically relevant intermediates. For more information on Prof. Hadt’s research: Hadt Lab

Hosted by Prof. Nilay Hazari.

Sponsored by the Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Fund.

Trainee Research Talks:  SCL 111, 2:45 pm

Devi Oniani, Hazari Lab

Ryan Walser-Kuntz, Holland Lab