Taming Electricity for Streamlined Molecular Discovery
Research conducted in our group focuses on challenges and opportunities in catalysis and synthesis, with a particular interest in (electro)catalyst development. Our motivation will be to cultivate new strategies for sustainable synthesis, improving catalyst efficiency and selectivity in (electro)chemical reactions. The general research goals of the Derosa Lab center on the development and application of transition metal catalysts for new synthetic organic methodology. These projects will involve interdisciplinary, yet complementary, areas of research; along with extensive training in organic synthesis and methods development at its core, students will gain mastery in inorganic and organometallic chemistry as well as electroanalytical techniques. Moreover, the catalytic manifolds developed in the Derosa Lab will have direct application across a wide range of subdisciplines, offering rich collaborative opportunities in diverse areas of research. This offers exciting opportunities for translational research in medicinal and process chemistry.
Research Area #1: Selective Late-Stage Functionalization
Developing new ways to modify complex molecules with electrochemical precision
We develop electrochemical and catalytic methods that enable selective bond formation and functional group interconversions. A major goal is to translate mechanistic control into reactions that can impart unique selectivity in complex molecular scaffolds, utilizing "voltage control" in electrochemical settings as a tool to maximize reaction efficiency while minimizing undesired electrochemical decomposition. We are also interested in harnessing π-activation strategies for fragment-selective synthetic approaches.
Research Area #2: Redox Mediator Design
Designing molecular electron transfer catalysts to control reactivity and selectivity
Redox mediators are central to our approach toward selective electrosynthesis, combining voltage control and kinetic control as interconnected design elements. We design tunable molecular mediators that shuttle electrons between electrodes and substrates or catalysts, allowing reaction pathways to be controlled through mediator structure, redox potential, kinetics, and applied voltage. These studies seek to expand the mediator-based toolkit and establish general design principles for programmable electrochemical reactivity.
Research Area #3: Tandem & Paired Electrocatalysis
Connecting multiple catalytic reactions through controlled electron transfer modes
We are developing platforms in which sequential or polarity-matched electrochemical events cooperate to orchestrate rapid buildup of molecular complexity. By coupling redox mediators and transition metal catalysts, and/or anodic and cathodic processes, we aim to create new reaction networks in which electrons are controllably shuttled productively at multiple stages in a synthetic sequence.
