Research

Research in our group focuses on developing catalysts inspired by principles of bioinorganic chemistry to activate inert chemical bonds and enable the selective transformation of small molecules and otherwise unreactive substrates. A major thrust of our work is the catalytic upcycling of recalcitrant environmental pollutants into value-added chemicals using well-defined molecular and materials-based catalytic systems.

A second major research direction centers on the design and synthesis of heterogenized molecular catalysts, nanomaterials, and nanozyme-inspired catalytic platforms for the depolymerization and chemical upgrading of polymer waste and biomass-derived lignin-based polymers. By integrating concepts from bioinorganic chemistry, surface and interface science, and catalysis, our research aims to address environmental pollution through fundamental chemical principles and to transform waste streams into valuable molecular and material resources.