Bioinspired activation of small molecules and inert X-H bonds. More specifically, at present we seek to develop first-row late transition metal complexes able to (1) activate O2 for catalytic oxidation of unactivated C-H bonds, thereby allowing more straightforward synthesis of a wide range of organic molecules; (2) promote efficient and selective reduction of O2 to water (ORR), which is key to the function of fuel cells; and (3) electrocatalytically oxidize H2O to O2 in an efficient manner, which is pivotal to the development of photovoltaic cells designed to harvest and store solar energy in chemical form.
