Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry

bring a NEW CHEMICAL REACTIVITy BY CONTROLLING AND UTILIZING REACTIVE INTERMEDIATES

The Hwang group uses synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry to develop new catalytic methods for energy delivery, storage and recycling. We develop interdisciplinary approaches to tackle unsolved problems in catalysis and sustainable chemistry. Particular emphases will be placed on the rational design of catalysts utilized by photo- and electro-chemistry, which will allow for selective conversion of readily available small molecules into highly value-added commodity chemicals via clean and sustainable reaction routes.

Area of particular interest include:

01.Self-assembled Metallacage (photo)catalysts

Inspired by enzymes that can control the flow of protons and electrons between redox-active metallocluster cores and their substrates, we will develop a new class of polynuclear transition metal cluster (photo)catalysts that function in the multiple proton-coupled redox reactions of small molecules (CO2, CH4 or N2 etc) as well as for new modes of photochemical reactions of selective bond functionalization. In particular, we will design photocatalysts that can both promote the selective generation of reactive radical intermediates and regulate their downstream reactivity.

02.Non-Faradic Promoting Electrocatalysts

We will dynamically control the local electronic field environment near catalytic active sites via electrical field bias in order to develop a new mode of catalytic reactivity and stability on an application to biomass conversion and asymmetric catalysis.

03.A new class of main group or transition metal catalysts

Our efforts towards rational catalyst design focus on constructing catalytic sites at the molecular level. Our ligand platforms are inspired by the entatic states that occur in proteins in which a metal or nonmetal is forced into an unusual, energetically strained geometric or electronic state. We aim to improve our understanding of factors contributing to the promotion of productive bond activation/functionalization processes, by mimicking the way that biological system uses structural changes as an efficient means of energy delivery and storage.