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SUMMARY:Strategies in Sustainable Catalysis:  Making and Breaking N-N Bonds
  with Titanium and Synthesizing Polyesters from Carbon Dioxide
LOCATION:Chemistry A101
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20250218T160000
UID:2026-04-30-00-11-21@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260430T001121
Description:About the Seminar:\n\nThe Tonks Group at the University of Minn
 esota is broadly interested in using transition metals in sustainable cata
 lytic applications. The first part of the talk will be focused on oxidativ
 e amination reactions with titanium\, the 2nd most earth-abundant transiti
 on metal. Several years ago our group discovered that Ti imidos (LnTi=NR) 
 can catalyze oxidative nitrene transfer reactions from diazenes via a TiII
 /TiIV redox couple. We are using this new mode of reactivity to develop a 
 large suite of practical synthetic methods. Here\, our latest synthetic an
 d mechanistic discoveries related to Ti nitrene transfer catalysis and oth
 er amination reactions will be discussed\, including multicomponent N-N ox
 idative coupling to synthesize pyrazoles\, catalytic N-N dehydrocoupling f
 or heterocycle synthesis\, and more. The second part of the talk will be f
 ocused on new strategies for using C1 waste feedstocks in polymer synthesi
 s. We have developed a reaction sequence leading to biodegradable polyeste
 rs starting from butadiene with CO2. This sequence involves the telomeriza
 tion of butadiene with CO2 to a lactone called EVP\, which can subsequentl
 y undergo ring-opening polymerization to generate vinyl-sidechain function
 alized polyesters containing 30% CO2 by weight.\n\nAbout the Speaker:\n\nI
 an Tonks is the Associate Department Head and Lloyd H. Reyerson professor 
 at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities\, and associate editor for 
 the ACS journal Organometallics. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Co
 lumbia University in 2006 and performed undergraduate research with Prof. 
 Ged Parkin. He earned his Ph.D. in 2012 from the California Institute of T
 echnology\, where he worked with Prof. John Bercaw on olefin polymerizatio
 n catalysis and early transition metal-ligand multiply bonded complexes. A
 fter postdoctoral research with Prof. Clark Landis at the University of Wi
 sconsin – Madison\, he began his independent career at the University of
  Minnesota in 2013. His current research interests are focused on the deve
 lopment of earth abundant\, sustainable catalytic methods using early tran
 sition metals\, and on catalytic strategies for incorporation of CO2 into 
 polymers. Prof. Tonks’ work has been recognized with an Outstanding New 
 Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health\, an Alfred P. S
 loan Fellowship\, a Department of Energy CAREER award\, and the ACS Organo
 metallics Distinguished Author Award\, among others. Additionally\, Prof. 
 Tonks’ service toward improving academic safety culture was recently rec
 ognized with the 2021 ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety Graduate 
 Faculty Safety Award. 4:00 pm
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