Dr. Guodong Du
Assistant Professor
B. S., 1995, Peking University; Ph. D., 2003, Iowa State University; Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2003-2005, Ames Lab and Iowa State University; Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2005-2008, Purdue University.Catalysis is one of central themes in chemistry with applications ranging from commodity chemical synthesis, to pharmaceuticals and various enzymes. Understanding how the catalysts work holds key to faster, cleaner, more selective, and more sustainable transformations and processes. Along this line, our research program encompasses a wide range of projects, including design and synthesis of chiral ligands and their metal complexes, application to asymmetric reactions with energy and/or environmental implications, as well as kinetic and mechanistic investigation in small molecule activations.
Specifically, we are interested in developing efficient and selective catalytic systems relevant to energy and environment. Our current area of focus can be divided into two directions: development of a chiral ligand framework for asymmetric catalysis; and the catalytic incorporation of carbon dioxide into organic molecules, particularly to afford enantiomerically enriched cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates.
Our research involves a wide variety of areas in chemistry. Students in our group will design, prepare and characterize chiral ligands and metal complexes, screen the catalytic activity, and study the kinetic and mechanisms, using a wide range of analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as multinuclear NMR, IR, UV-vis, GC-MS, as well as electrochemistry and X-ray diffraction.
Selected Publications
1. Dehydrocoupling of organosilanes with a dinuclear nickel hydride catalyst and isolation of a aickel silyl complex. Smith, E. E.; Du. G.; Fanwick, P. E.; Abu-Omar, M. M. Organometallics 2010, 29, 6527-6533.
2. An efficient method for the preparation of oxo molybdenum salalen complexes and their unusual use as hydrosilylation catalysts. Ziegler, J. E.; Du, G.; Fanwick, P. E.; Abu-Omar, M. M. Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 11290-11296.
3. Metal oxo and imido complexes in catalytic reductions. Du. G.; Abu-Omar, M. M. Curr. Org. Chem. 2008, 12, 1185-1198.
4. Cationic oxorhenium chiral salen complexes for asymmetric hydrosilylation and kinetic resolution of alcohols. Du. G.; Fanwick, P. E.; Abu-Omar, M. M. Inorg. Chim. Acta (special issue) 2008, 361, 3184-3192.
5. Mechanistic insight into hydrosilylation reactions catalyzed by high valent Re≡X (X = O, NAr, or N) complexes: The silane (Si-H) does not add across the metal-ligand multiple bond. Du. G.; Fanwick, P. E.; Abu-Omar, M. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 5180-87.
