Research
Research in the Kilyanek group is principally in the area of inorganic and organometallic catalysis. Our research group works on problems related to long term sustainability and energy storage and conversion. Recently an increase in the awareness of “green chemistry” has renewed interest in finding new catalytic routes to chemical feedstocks, molecular compounds as well as functional materials. Catalysis is poised to have a massive impact on sustainability because it can reduce the overall environmental impact of chemical reactions by reducing waste and side products.
Major discoveries in organometallic chemistry have made substantial contributions to small molecule activation and conversion. These processes typically require multiple electron transfers either to or from a substrate. We use engineered ligand environments in homogeneous catalysts as well as on conductive heterogeneous nanostructures and interfaces to help mediate these electron transfer reactions. Insights from the organometallic and inorganic research in our group will be used to develop systems with new reactivity and selectivity. Research in our group allows students to gain experience in synthesis, electrochemistry and molecular modeling.
The tools used in the Kilyanek group include, organic and inorganic synthetic methods and characterization (NMR, MS and other molecular spectroscopy) as well as materials characterization (XPS, AFM, SEM etc). Additionally our interdisciplinary group uses electrochemistry to investigate the kinetics of electron transfer processes as well as to drive reactions electrocatalytically mitigating the need for sacrificial reductants and oxidants.