Metal Complexes for Catalysis

Dr. Namita Sharma
Dr. Anton Bunschoten
Prof. Dr. Aldrik Velders

Redox reactions, encompassing electron transfer processes, are fundamental to various chemical and biological phenomena, powering reactions from energy conversion to catalytic transformations. Transition metal complexes play a pivotal role in these chemical conversions. It is of utmost important to study and understand the electron transfer processes to develop new and versatile catalysts for efficient conversions. In biological context, metalloenzymes containing coordination metal complexes carry out various redox processes such as electron transfer, oxygen transport, and photosynthesis. The active sites of these enzymes harbor precisely tailored ligands around metal centers, enabling intricate redox reactions with remarkable efficiency and specificity.

Our projects are focused on various redox reactions in particular, water oxidation and understand the mechanism of O-O bond formation during the process. We are focused on designing, synthesizing and reactivity studies of metal coordination complexes and their applications.