Research Projects
Critical Metals Separations & Recycling
Swiftly changing energy sector needs are increasing the demand for purified metals, including rare earths, tantalum, niobium, lithium, cobalt and others. The goal of this project is to discover fundamental and sustainable chemistries that can be applied to solve challenging problems in critical metals separations.
f-Element Metal-Ligand Multiple Bonds and Organometallics
Studies of metal-ligand covalency for early transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides, important for expanding fundamental knowledge of their complexes but also for advancing applications related to metals separations and catalysis, where oxidation state changes can be critical aspects. Under this project, the team synthesizes and characterizes new organo-f-element complexes to understand the bonding and reactivity differences between lanthanides, actinides, and d-block metals.
Photochemistry and Photocatalysis
Complexes of cerium, an inexpensive and earth-abundant element, are being developed as new photoredox mediators along oxidative and reductive quenching pathways. For this project, the team is studying the unique photophysical properties and potential for photocatalytic reactivity of cerium and related elements for challenging bond-activation and functionalization chemistries.
Molecular Quantum Materials
Ions and materials with occupied (or partially occupied) f-orbitals have provided key test beds for fundamental studies of a range of quantum phenomena including superconductivity, quantum critical points, time crystals, teleportation, and others. Under this project, we are working to synthesize metal complexes and extended materials of redox active f-elements with strong electron correlations towards observing collective quantum effects in a molecular material.