Projects

QUANTUN - Quantum Mechanical Tunneling in Organic Chemistry

This project aims to develop the cutting-edge concepts of quantum mechanical tunneling (QMT) of atoms as tools applied to organic chemistry reactions, defining new paradigms in chemical reactivity, and exploring novel avenues for molecular design, such as (i) vibrational activated tunneling, (ii) conformational control of proton tunneling, (iii) tunneling through crossing potential energy surfaces, and (iv) isotope-controlled tunneling. It aims to induced QMT for the first time in synthesis strategies and reactions' planning, in order to create opportunities for discovering of new chemical transformations and bringing QMT to the organic chemistry laboratory. The project will also set the state for harvesting QMT contributions in catalytic C-H bond activation reactions and, in this way, bring new visions for catalytic reactions design aiming more efficient and selective synthetic innovative strategies

aCTIVE - Chemistry Triggered by Infrared Vibrational Excitation

This project aims to apply infrared vibrational excitation to achieve unprecedented ways of molecular structure manipulation. Cryogenic working conditions will be used to afford investigation of unimolecular reactions with low-energy barriers. Unimolecular reactions will be activated, within the electronic ground state, by energy of tunable infrared laser light introduced via absorption of vibrational overtones that will serve as selective molecular “antennas”. The excitation of antennas at their first and second overtones will be applied to trigger different classes of reactions including those that mimic the activation of drugs and molecular switches. The groundbreaking nature of the outlined strategy will offer a controlled and highly-selective approach to guide chemical reactions in ways no attainable by thermal or electronic excitation processes.