Research

We take inspiration from biological systems to address challenges related to catalysis, energy, and global warming. 

Nature uses enzymes to carryout challenging chemical reactions that are essential for metabolic processes and have deep impact on the human health and environment. Several of these enzymes use transition metals to activate dioxygen which result in the formation of transient intermediates with diverse reaction outcomes. We are interested in understanding the structure, properties, and reactivity of such species using synthetic complexes of late transition metals, particularly complexes with multiple redox centers. Our research projects involve a combination of synthesis, spectroscopy, DFT, and reactivity studies which elucidate the electronic structures and provide information about structure-function relationship in our model complexes.