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Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of Iridium-Aluminum and Rhodium-Aluminum Heterobimetallic Complexes

Abstract:

Research in the Brewster lab seeks to harness the combined power of a strong Lewis acid, aluminum, and an electron-rich late transition metal for bond activation and catalysis. A modular synthetic route to heterobimetallic late transition metal-aluminum complexes has been developed and the electronic structure of the resulting species interrogated. Reactivity with small molecules, H2 and CO2 will be presented. Mechanistic studies reveal stark differences in reactivity depending on the substrate employed.

Bio:

Dr. Brewster completed his B.S. in chemistry and mathematics at the College of William and Mary in 2008, conducting research under the direction of Prof. Robert Pike. He then moved to Yale University where he obtained his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Bob Crabtree in 2012. Dr. Brewster then accepted a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellowship to work as part of the NSF Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC) in the lab of Karen Goldberg. He started his independent career in 2015 at the University of Memphis studying the effects of second-sphere functionality on late transition metal catalysts.