N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been explored extensively in various fields due to impressive and novel properties. Although general carbene species are unstable due to the incomplete octet structures, the NHCs can be easily prepared, isolated, and utilized for many applications. The unique electronic property of some NHCs enables the formation of unprecedented complexes with small molecules such as CO, H₂, NH₃, or NO, as well as the cleavage of various inert bonds such as H–H, N–H or C–H. On the other hand, a variety of previously inaccessible organic radicals have been successfully prepared and characterized with an aid of NHCs' steric bulk and π-accepting character.

Frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) are a compound or mixture containing sterically hindered Lewis acids and bases that cannot react to form acid-base adducts due to steric hindrance. Since the first report of FLP reactivity in 2006, FLP chemistry has been extensively exploited for small molecule activation, expanding dramatically in the fields of catalysis and material sciences. The latent reactivity of unquenched nucleophilic and electrophilic centers in FLP systems has indeed been exploited over the last decade, to activate various inert substrates.

Iron-sulfur (Fe–S) clusters are some of the most ubiquitous cofactors in biological systems. They participate in not only electron transfer, but also numerous substrate activation and transformation. Notable examples include the clusters in nitrogenase and carbon monoxide dehydrogenase. Our researches focus on the design and synthesis of sulfide-bridged multimetallic complexes using various ligands and study the reactivity of those systems.