April 1, 2024
Osvaldo Gutierrez to present Chemistry Seminar
Osvaldo Gutierrez, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University will be the speaker for this week's Chemistry Seminar.
Gutierrez will present "The advent and recent developments of Fe-catalyzed multicomponent cross-coupling reactions" at 1:05 p.m. Thursday, April 4, in Room 4 of King Hall.
Abstract: Despite advances in high-throughput screening methods leading to a surge in the discovery of catalytic reactions, our knowledge of the molecular-level interactions in the rate- and selectivity-determining steps of catalytic reactions, especially those involving highly unstable and reactive open-shell intermediates, is rudimentary. These knowledge gaps prevent control, suppression, or enhancement, of competing reaction channels that can drive development of unprecedented catalytic reactions. In this talk, Gutierrez will focus on our use of high-level quantum mechanical calculations, rigorously calibrated against experimental data, to interrogate the mechanisms and to guide the development of new catalysts and reagents for currently sluggish or unselective reactions. In particular, Gutierrez will focus on our use of combined experimental and computational tools to understand and develop new (asymmetric) three-component iron-catalyzed radical cascade/cross-coupling reactions.