Research Overview

Our group explores electronically flexible main-group chemistry — from fundamental bonding questions to real-world applications in carbon capture and sustainable materials.

Carbon Capture & Sequestration

We develop redox-active sorbents and electrochemical strategies for COâ‚‚ separation that aim to lower the energy penalty of carbon capture at industrial scale. This includes work on oxygen-tolerant electrochemical systems and rethinking chemical design principles for deployment-ready materials.

  • Electrochemical COâ‚‚ separation
  • Redox-active sorbents
  • Techno-economic scale-up analysis
Image / Scheme
Image / Scheme

Carbene & Carbone Coordination Chemistry

Using N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and carbodicarbenes as electronically flexible, strongly donating ligands, we stabilize reactive main-group centers at magnesium and bismuth — enabling new modes of small-molecule activation, redox flexibility, and bimetallic cooperation.

  • NHC-stabilized Grignard reagents
  • Carbodiphosphorane–bismuth coordination
  • Geminal bimetallic complexes

Boron & Main-Group Materials

We design boron-doped polyacenes and azaboraacenium luminophores with unusual electronic and photophysical properties, including air- and photo-stable radicals and dianions relevant to organic electronics and optoelectronic materials.

  • Boron-doped pentacenes
  • Azaboraacenium luminophores
  • Bis(9-boraphenanthrene) biradicals
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Methods & Approach

Synthesis

Air- and moisture-free Schlenk and glovebox techniques for isolating reactive main-group intermediates.

Structural Characterization

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, multinuclear NMR, and EPR spectroscopy.

Computation

DFT studies (e.g., B3LYP/def2-SVP with solvation models) to understand bonding and reactivity.

Electrochemistry

Electrochemical COâ‚‚ capture systems and redox characterization.