Date/Time Date(s) - 18/07/202211:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom link available from gsamcgss@mcmaster.ca or chemgrad@mcmaster.ca
Marcus began his chemistry career at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), completing a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in 2012 with Prof. Francesca M. Kerton in main group coordination chemistry with an emphasis on ‘green polymer’ applications. In 2016, he was granted his doctorate in chemistry from the University of British Columbia (UBC) under the co-supervision of Profs. Laurel L. Schafer and Jennifer A. Love. At UBC, Marcus was an NSERC Vanier scholarship holder and studied organometallic chemistry related to N,Ochelated Group 9 transition metals, which included the development of new reactions aimed at the synthesis of phosphorus-containing agrochemicals. As a PhD student, Marcus was also a Michael-Smith visiting scholar at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof. Andrew S. Weller working on amine-borane chemistry. In 2017, he began work as a joint Resnick Prize Fellow in Sustainability Science and NSERC Banting fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) under the guidance of Prof. Jonas C. Peters. At Caltech, Marcus’ efforts were devoted to the synthesis of new open-shell iron compounds for proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET).
Exterior decorating: Lewis acid secondary coordination spheres for cooperative reactivity
My team’s work spans the traditional bounds of synthetic organometallic and organic chemistry, with an overarching goal to develop new molecules that promote the equitable use of resources, specifically regarding global hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles. As molecular architects, we are motivated by a desire to revise the way in which humans interact with the planet by inventing ways to utilize greenhouse gasses as feedstocks, designing new catalysts for clean energy, and providing better methods for the synthesis of specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and bulk consumer products. In this lecture, I will discuss several new ambiphilic diphosphine ligands that host Lewis acidic (boron-containing) secondary coordination spheres (SCSs). Diphosphines play a central role in the realm of synthetic chemistry with modifications to backbone length and R substituents leading to dramatic differences in net reactivity. Synthesis of these scaffolds and their ensuing coordination chemistry with late transition metals (cobalt, rhodium, and nickel) will be discussed with applications pertinent to themes in sustainability including catalysis, small-molecule fixation, and more.