Please join Yale Chemistry for a Silliman Seminar in inorganic chemistry with Prof. Demyan Prokopchuk, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Rutgers University-Newark.
About the Prokopchuk Group: Selectively making and breaking C-H, N-H, O-H, and H-H bonds are cornerstones of synthetic chemistry and renewable energy. The Prokopchuk group designs molecular systems that sustainably activate small molecules containing these bonding motifs. To achieve this goal, the group synthesizes transition metal complexes with bespoke ligand scaffolds and studies their chemical properties using electrochemistry, X-ray crystallography and NMR/IR/UV-vis/EPR spectroscopies. Reaction kinetics and catalysis are studied using time-resolved spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are used to understand thermochemical and kinetic free energy landscapes with high levels of accuracy. Three major areas of research focus on: 1) Unraveling the thermochemistry of C-H bond weakening in metal-catalyzed C-H activation reactions; 2) Pushing the limits of organometallic redox chemistry by developing new “supercharged” mediators for CO2 reduction; 3) Developing new amine-rich ligand frameworks for applications in electrocatalysis and chemical fuel synthesis. For more information on Prof. Prokopchuk’s research: Prokopchuk Group
Hosted by Prof. Nilay Hazari.
Sponsored by the Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Fund.