About the Seminar Molecular complexes of early transition metals are of interest as catalysts for the production of fine chemicals or polymers. One important feature of some such complexes is their paramagnetism, which can be studied by nuclear and electron paramagnetic resonance (i.e., NPR and EPR) spectroscopy. In cases where there is more than one […]

Join us for the November Colorado ACS Meeting What to Do When Your Published Results Are Questioned Presentation by: Dr. George Stanley Colorado State University & Louisiana State University Chair-Elect of Colorado Section of ACS Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, 4:00 pm, A101 Colorado State University 1301 Center Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado 80523   About the […]

About the Seminar: Widespread adoption of renewable energy is limited by the lack of low-cost long-duration energy storage. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are an attractive option to meet this energy storage need because their power and energy components can be scaled independently by storing energy with redox-active materials dissolved in solution. To date, RFB electrolytes […]

Informal Inorganic Seminar

About the Seminar: First row transition metals present opportunities for the discovery of novel catalytic transformations enabled by their distinct reactivity. Iron complexes are especially attractive as transition metal catalysts given that iron is generally nontoxic and is the most abundant d-block metal in the Earth’s crust. Research in the Neely focuses on the development […]

About the Seminar A central research goal in the Velian group is to create next-generation single atom catalysts poised to harness the cooperativity between the active site and chemically non-innocent supports. To emulate defect sites in inorganic heterogeneous catalysts in a controlled fashion, we embed well-defined active sites on the surface of clusters and 2D […]

About the Seminar: Control of electronic spin relaxation, via synthetic chemistry, is an important area of research for quantum information technology and next-generation medical imaging techniques. In particular, when considering the electronic relaxation of discrete molecules, the local environment (including nearby spins) plays a significant role in the rate at which spins relax. In this […]

A Boulder Scientific Distinguished Lecture  About the Talk: Design and development of sustainable, environmentally benign catalytic reactions for organic synthesis and for energy-related processes are major goals of current catalysis. We have developed new efficient, environmentally benign reactions catalyzed by pincer-type transition metal complexes, including complexes of earth-abundant metals. Several of these reactions either produce […]

Visiting Scientist Seminar About the Seminar: The synthesis of inorganic materials, particularly via solid-state routes, often results in unexpected and/or unwanted product phases. While these phases are typically referred to as “kinetic” products, their formation can often be rationalized through careful application of thermodynamics at solid interfaces within an “open” framework, where chemical potentials of […]

About the Seminar: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging (EPRI) stands to vastly improve the capabilities of non-invasive medical imaging techniques by harnessing the sensitivity of electronic spins. In order for this technique to reach viability, a fundamental understanding of how to design the necessary imaging agents is imperative. Much research has been conducted into EPRI imaging […]

About the Seminar: A significant body of research is focused on student understanding of chemical concepts, particularly in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry. Few investigations have focused on more advanced courses. As part of the VIPEr Fellows project to study foundation-level inorganic chemistry courses, faculty from eighteen institutions used a series of open-ended questions […]

Unlike higher spin systems, the source of slow magnetic relaxation in S = ½ single molecule magnets is non-intuitive. Herein the magnetic and structural properties of several low spin Ni(III) systems are investigated in attempt to understand why such a system is able to undergo slow magnetic relaxation. Analyses of a bisulphate containing system suggest […]

About the Seminar: This talk will cover research being conducted in the Schimpf Lab, which focuses on solution-phase syntheses of inorganic solid-state materials. The talk will contain two parts: colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and cluster-based coordination assemblies. In the first part, I will discuss the use of colloidal synthesis to access metastable phases of transition metal […]

Research Seminar: Understanding the physical and chemical behavior of metals is paramount for their development into materials. The frontier of metallurgical research exists at the nanoscale, specifically in the size regime of 1-3 nm where species known as atomically precise clusters predominate. These can be viewed as soluble metallic crystallites with exact formula protected by […]

Literature Seminar: Lithium Metal Batteries (LMBs) are an exciting alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) due to the theoretical capacity of Li-metal anodes (3861 mAh/g). Despite this excitement, LMBs are plagued by gross instability during the Li plating/stripping process, which is thought to result from the formation of an unstable Solid-electrolyte Interphase (SEI). Much work has […]

Literature Seminar: Oxynitrides and their ability to be synthesized are an important facet in the solid-state chemistry field. Their properties are more tunable than in their single-anion counterparts as anions exhibit different characteristics (i.e. electronegativity) that contribute to the overall properties of the material. However, difficulty in their synthesis arises due to the intrinsic stability […]

Literature Seminar: Achieving luminescence with earth abundant metals at room temperature is a difficult task to this day. Minimal overlap between ligand and 3d orbitals means there are more low energy metal centered states which favor non radiative relaxation back to the ground state rather than luminescence. Prior to a 2020 report1 of the vanadium(III) […]

Literature Seminar Chalcogen bonding is a non-covalent interaction involving a Lewis acidic chalcogen (S, Se, Te) atom and a Lewis basic nucleophile that largely involves electrostatics, charge-transfer, and dispersion as well as reduction of repulsion to form an interaction that is generally stronger than hydrogen bonding (15-20 kcal mol-1).1 Non-covalent interactions are key functions of ion-transport […]

About the Seminar: Commercialized membrane electrolyzers use acidic proton exchange membranes (PEMs). These systems offer high performance but require the use of expensive precious-metal catalysts such as IrO2 and Pt that are nominally stable under the locally acidic conditions of the ionomer. I will present our efforts to study and develop alternative electrolysis platforms. First, […]

Research Seminar Achieving control of magnetic relaxation in molecules is an important goal for molecular spintronics, quantum information, and biomedical imaging. The main hurdle to using molecules in the foregoing applications is a lack of fundamental understanding of precisely how the environment modulates spin relaxation times (T1, T2). One part of this challenge is the presence […]

Research Seminar Nanoparticles are used in a variety of areas, such as optoelectronics, medicine, and energy generation and storage. Different applications necessitate nanoparticles of different compositions and morphologies. Thus, developing fine synthetic control over phase and morphology is of interest to the field. Solution-phase nanoparticle synthesis allows control over particle shape and size, though phase […]

Research Seminar Nickel-catalyzed cross coupling reactions driven by light represent a family of promising new methods to furnish carbon-hetoatom (C-N, C-O, and C-S) bonds which are highly sought after in medicinal and process chemistry, as well as in other fields. The development of a novel C-N bond formation method between aryl halides and amines that […]

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Research Seminar MR thermometry would enable powerful biomedical applications with the design of novel cobalt-59 spin-base probes. Yet unrealized is the strong temperature dependence of structure-function relationship between ligand and nuclear spin in various cobalt complexes. Herein, a series of Co-N6 complexes is investigated to understand how to control temperature dependent nuclear spin properties of […]

Research Seminar Catalytic generation of nitric oxide (NO) at material surfaces improves implanted medical device performance. Devices containing the metal-organic framework (MOF) [(Cu4Cl)3–(BTTri)8] (CuBTTri) catalyze NO release from the endogenous tripeptide S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). MOFs are hybrid inorganic-organic materials that are promising heterogeneous catalysts due to their tunability, well-defined geometry, porosity, and high surface area. We […]

About the Seminar: Porosity in network solids, including zeolites, activated carbons, and metal-organic frameworks, has been widely interrogated for decades. In molecular metal-organic systems, however, it is a relatively novel phenomenon. This is somewhat surprising given the fact that porous organic cages can display surface areas that rival those of metal-organic frameworks. This talk will […]

About the Seminar: Yb3+-doped lead-halide perovskites (Yb3+:CsPb(Cl1-xBrx)3) have recently emerged as unique materials combining strong, tunable broadband absorption with near-infrared photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) approaching 200% at ambient temperature. These remarkable properties make Yb3+:CsPb(Cl1-xBrx)3 an extremely promising candidate for spectral shaping in various solar-energy-conversion devices. This talk will describe some of our group’s recent research […]

The diseases produced by trypanosomatid parasites, like American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease), Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness, HAT) and Leishmaniasis constitute an urgent health problem gathered in the poorest regions of the world. These diseases are highly prevalent and classified as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to low historical investment […]

Nature has inspired inorganic chemists to look beyond the immediate coordination sphere of complexes to tune and optimize reactivity. Two important themes have been the use of pendant proton donors/acceptors as well as incorporating redox-active moieties into ligand scaffolds. However, nature does not limit itself to an “either/or” strategy, and uses both of these features […]

The need for new metastable materials with exotic properties is at an all-time high. The Department of Energy has made it a primary research direction to investigate materials discovery using extreme synthesis conditions. Pressure can be used as a kinetic trap to stabilize or discover compounds that cannot be synthesized under ambient conditions. The high-pressure […]

The rise of electronic devices developed and utilized around the world requires having a diverse set of energy storage devices with different properties. Pseudocapacitors have the potential to be used in devices where traditional energy storage devices fall short by possessing both high energy and power. Pseudocapacitors accomplish this by storing energy via a redox […]

Three vignettes on chemical synthesis comprise this talk. The first, related to Molecular Biology, describes the development of proteins that control the elemental composition, size and shape of inorganic nanoparticles are synthesized by these genetically engineered proteins. Because protein sequence is defined by DNA sequence and DNA is cloned during replication, these nanoparticles are termed […]

Biological microscopic studies, once revolutionized by the discovery of clonable fluorophores like Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), engender foundational evidence for cellular processes via in situ protein labeling and tracking by fluorescence. As light microscopy is inherently diffraction limited, electron microscopy (EM) unveils details of cellular ultrastructure with nanometer scale resolution. The primary challenge of biological […]

Research Seminar Solid-state synthesis, especially at low-temperatures (T ≤ 400 ◦C) can be difficult due to the limited number of well-known and understood synthetic techniques and the barrier of solid-state diffusion that can inhibit reactivity. Flux reactions, traditionally involving inorganic melts, are one technique used to overcome solid-state diffusion at reduced temperatures. This research explores […]

About the Seminar: Synthetic iron-based catalysts that functionally model iron dependent oxygenases are rare. Considering the large number of synthetic iron complexes, why is this? We are taking a close look at this question and, in the process, have come up with some design principles that are guiding our work towards developing synthetic iron-based catalysts […]

About the Seminar: The Matson Group is investigating the synthesis, characterization and reactivity of multimetallic metal-oxide assemblies. Our principle interests rest in the exploration of unique redox properties and cooperative reactivity of heterometallic assemblies for multielectron chemical processes. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of a family of vanadium oxide clusters, which serve as […]

Research Seminar One of the challenges facing the world is the need to fulfill the growing demand for energy via renewable resources while minimizing CO2 emissions. Photoelectrochemical water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen is one such system capable of renewable solar energy conversion. Previously, we developed a water-oxidation photoanode consisting of nanostructured SnO2 coated with […]

Literature Seminar Metal organic frameworks (MOF) have become of interest for application in radioactive environments as studies have shown γ-irradiation resistance in MOFs. MOFs are synthetically tunable which provides an advantage for a variety of applications. However, there is not a great understanding of what properties make MOFs resistant to radiation. This talk will focus on γ-irradiation […]

Literature Seminar Magic-sized clusters (MSCs) have recently been of interest as precursors in the synthesis of nanoparticles of potentially useful materials. They can be used to produce a narrower size distribution of the resulting nanoparticles (as opposed to simple salt precursors), and can be used to control morphology. However, the role of MSCs on the […]

Materials discovery can be accelerated by the development of synthesis methods and in-situ characterization techniques allowing for the rapid “screening” of multicomponent systems, while theoretical predictions of new compounds’ structure and thermodynamic stability can yield the desired roadmap for the targeted synthesis. However, the sluggish kinetics of solid-state reactions entails the necessity of high temperatures […]

Research Seminar Gold nanoclusters have unique properties and solvable structures which allows for interesting investigations into the origins of their properties for various applications from a core prospective and a ligand prospective. With superatomic orbitals, they present new avenues to different chemistry including orbitals that are not seen in other materials. Within this study, the electronic structure and magnetism of larger gold nanoclusters is […]

About the Seminar Protonic (H+) processes that occur in water in the dark are identical to electronic (e–) processes that occur in semiconductors in the dark; for this reason, my team defines water as a protonic semiconductor. Using this fact, over a half-century ago Prof. John Bockris demonstrated that hydrated bipolar ion-selective membranes can form […]

Literature Seminar My literature seminar will investigate recent advances in the field of metal-free catalysts for the reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. Ammonia is a critical component of fertilizers, and is not produced naturally in large quantities. The nitrogen reduction reaction is one of the most important industrial chemical processes, as it enables the mass […]

Literature Seminar Targeted alpha therapy represents an underdeveloped area of cancer treatment. Alpha particles have demonstrated a high degree of cytotoxicity, which when harnessed, can be effective at inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. However, due to the low natural abundance of alpha-emitting radioisotopes and their sparsely studied chemistry, Radium-223 is the only FDA approved radioisotope […]

Literature Seminar Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging cancer treatment based on the interactions between light, a photosensitizing drug and oxygen, which create reactive oxygen species (ROS), killing cells in a localized region. Although PDT is efficient for the local destruction of tumors, the treatment is still ineffective in systemic tumor elimination, so other treatment […]

Literature Seminar Heavy metal detection has received significant attention in recent years due to the increasing risk to human health and surrounding ecosystems. Here, the term heavy metal will encompass transition and post transition metals. Heavy metals that pose concern can span from biologically relevant transition metals like copper and zinc, to post transition metals […]

About the Seminar: The very diverse geometrical and electronic structures of inorganic clusters, and in particular early-transition metal polyoxometalates (POMs), give these complex polyanions an extensive, usually reversible and tunable redox chemistry and other properties of value in several fields. A subset of this chemistry is that POMs are effective catalysts for oxidations, including air(O2)-based […]

About the Seminar: Ammonia has arisen as an attractive potential large-scale energy carrier due to its improved storage and transport over hydrogen, provoking calls to explore a potential Nitrogen Economy. Two fundamental technologies are needed in order to realize a zero-carbon nitrogen energy economy: (1) Ammonia synthesis from solar electricity, and (2) high-performance direct ammonia […]

About the Seminar: The luminescence of lanthanide ions is based on f-f transitions. Due to the core nature of the 4f orbitals involved in the process, as well as the forbidden nature of these transitions, the emission properties make these ions uniquely suited for a variety of applications involving light emission, such as lighting, imaging, […]

Overview of Inorganic Program

Research Seminar Abstract The electronic absorption and magnetic properties of iron(II) are vastly different depending on the spin state. Iron(II) can reversibly switch its spin state through perturbation, like temperature, intermolecular interactions, coordination environment, or moderate changes on the ligand (e.g. isomerization, protonation). However, to our knowledge, there are no reports of spin state switching […]

About the Seminar Most plasmonic metals studied to date are composed of either Cu, Ag, and Au. The former two can pose significant challenges related to oxidation, the latter is often perceived as cost-prohibitive, and all three are rare. Recently, much attention has been focused on earth-abundant Al, which is an excellent plasmonic in the […]

Research Seminar Abstract The possession of a low-spin (LS) and high-spin (HS) state of Fe(II) coordination complexes has important implications for its spin crossover (SCO) and excited state properties. A DFT empirical dispersion correction is modified to more accurately calculate the spin state energetics of Fe(II) SCO complexes. This developed functional is used in tandem […]

About the Seminar The AMX3 (A = Cs, Rb, CH3NH3; M = Pb, Sn, Ge; X = I, Br, Cl) halide perovskites have drawn a tremendous amount of attention in recent years. Their electrical and optical properties are comparable to conventional compound semiconductors, which makes them potentially suitable for many applications, including solar cells where power […]

About the Seminar:  Research in the Cossairt lab is focused on the solution-phase synthesis of chemical systems capable of sunlight absorption, color-pure emission, charge transfer, and fuels generation. Towards this end we seek to address fundamental challenges in the field of inorganic chemistry, specifically controlling the composition, structure and function of nanoscale light absorbers and […]

Research Seminar Abstract The kinetics and molecular mechanism of nucleation are investigated in molecular detail starting from [(1,5-COD)IrI(NCCH3)2][BF4], 1, which upon addition of HPO42– to 1 forms a neutral, phosphate-bridged species, {[(1,5-COD)IrI(NCCH3)]2•HPO4}0, 2, en route to {[(1,5-COD)IrI•HPO4]2[Bu4N]2}, 3. 1H NMR solution speciation and Signer apparatus solution molecular weight studies establish that in situ prepared {[(1,5-COD)IrI•HPO4]2}2–, […]

Research Seminar Abstract Commercial industries currently utilize graphite as the primary lithium anode material for secondary batteries. Graphite’s gravimetric capacity, however, has already been fully utilized and materials with higher capacities are more desirable for the advancement of next generation applications, such as electric vehicles. Of these materials, intermetallic alloys such as SnSb are of […]

About the Seminar In this talk, I will present our work on uranium mono- and bis-imido complexes in various oxidation states and what we have learned about the role of covalency in stabilizing the U=N interaction. The synthesis of high oxidation state, U(V-VI), complexes from lower oxidation state, U(III-IV) starting materials is driven by the […]

About the Seminar: The first part of the presentation will introduce our methodology towards improving molecular catalysts for energy relevant conversions. We strategically introduce redox-active and slightly acidic imidazolium moieties into the secondary coordination sphere of molecular CO2 reduction electrocatalysts. Results from systematic comparative studies will be presented that strongly suggest that mechanistic details of […]

Research Seminar Abstract: When used as the active semiconductor in photovoltaic devices, hybrid perovskites preform competitively with industry standard materials, including silicon and cadmium telluride. However, hybrid perovskites are structurally distinct from conventional inorganic semiconductors and therefore have unique structure-property relationships. In particular, although unsubstituted hybrid perovskites degrade under ambient conditions, empirical evidence demonstrates that […]

About the Seminar The conversion of energy-poor feedstocks like water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich fuels involves multi-electron, multi-proton transformations. In order to develop catalysts that can mediate fuel production with optimum energy efficiency, this complex proton-electron reactivity must be carefully considered. Using a combination of electrochemical methods and time-resolved spectroscopy, we have revealed new […]

A Boulder Scientific Distinguished Lecture About the Talk: Heterogeneous catalysts are indispensable in large-scale chemical processes. Adapting catalysts optimized for converting fossil-fuel-derived molecules to handle renewable carbon is a major challenge, imposed by differences in volatility and solubility. The kinetics of liquid phase transformations promoted by heterogeneous catalysts are complicated by partitioning of solvents, reactants, […]

Literature Seminar Abstract Within the past decade, new isolable lanthanide compounds of the 2+ have been achieved for the entire lanthanide series. Previously thought to be inaccessible due to high reduction potentials, these compounds display unique ground state electronic structures. These states provide an exciting opportunity to examine the photochemical properties via ligand environment of […]

Literature Seminar Abstract Pt(II) complexes have been extensively investigated as emitter dopants for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). A dopant greatly increases OLED efficiency due to the ability of the dopant to emit at room temperature from a triplet excited state. Triplet states represent the majority of excited states formed in OLED emitters during operation […]

Solar and wind are carbon-neutral, sustainable energy sources, but because they are intermittent, reliable energy storage is needed. Catalysts that efficiently interconvert between electrical energy and chemical bonds (fuels) are needed for sustainable, secure energy. Electrocatalysts based on inexpensive, earth-abundant metals (“Cheap Metals for Noble Tasks”) are needed. Ni complexes with “P2N2” ligands have been […]

About the Seminar: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often considered too insensitive for molecular imaging of biological processes. Although many Gd3+-based contrast agents have been reported in the chemistry literature over the past 30 years, only a few have been demonstrated to provide important biological information in vivo. A key parameter in the design of […]

About the Seminar: Actinides in the +3 oxidation state occupy central roles in many areas that are important for our quality of life. These range from developing targeted alpha therapy in treating cancer to processing spent nuclear fuel. Hence, there is pressing need to advance fundamental understanding of +3 actinide coordination chemistry. While numerous heroic […]

Seminar Abstract: A significant challenge in chemistry research is to rationally control structure-property relationships in materials to achieve desired properties. The prevailing approach to this challenge involves the serendipitous discovery of materials or the incremental modification of solid-state reactions. Therefore, the search for new materials is often limited by phase equilibria or is inhibited by […]

Literature Seminar Abstract Mixed-lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (M’LnMOFs) have received wide attention for their use as highly sensitive ratiometric luminescent thermometers. Their high resolutions and non-invasiveness have made them strong candidates for applications such as intracellular sensing and thermal mapping. Unfortunately, materials and techniques for sensing in the physiological temperature range (298-318 K) or higher are […]

Literature Seminar Abstract Single molecule magnets have been shown to be capable of performing as a quantum bit, or qubit, which is predicted to revolutionize the world of computing. However current day single molecule magnets only exhibit magnetic hysteresis, and thus can only act as a qubit, below liquid nitrogen temperatures. In 2014 a study […]

Literature Seminar Abstract Self-assembly has occurred in nature since the beginning of time, but only in the past 30 years has the term found its way into chemical literature to describe autonomous organization in various systems, from monolayers to nanoparticle superstructures. Nanoparticle self-assembly can be used as a high throughput method for the fabrication of […]

Literature Seminar Abstract: Metalloenzymes drive chemical processes across life forms and mimicking this reactivity still remains a synthetic challenge. Almost all metalloenzyme active sites are composed of transition metals. In 2007 in volcanic mudpools in southern Italy, the bacteria Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum was discovered with an enzyme containing a lanthanide active site in a methanol dehydrogenase […]

We have developed a family of selective organic catalysts for ring-opening polymerization reactions.1,2  In parallel efforts, we have developed new oxidation catalysts2 that generate new monomers which were then enchained using organocatalytic polymerization1 to generate functional materials that proved useful agents for the delivery of messenger RNA into living animals.4-6 Functional delivery of messenger RNA […]

The Nature Research portfolio includes the flagship Nature title, the physical and life sciences research journals, such as Nature Chemistry, and the open-access titles including the newly launched Communications Chemistry. During the first part of the talk Andrew will discuss the different aims and scopes of the various Nature titles as well as the relationship […]