David Jenkins

Professor of Chemistry

The Jenkins group focuses on inorganic and organic synthesis to develop chemical systems ranging from homogenous catalysis, to porous frameworks, to surface modifications. We concentrate on three distinct areas of research, all of which are centered around the use of five-membered N-heterocycles (azoles) as ligands for transition metals. The first area is focused on developing macrocyclic tetra N-heterocyclic carbene (NHCs) ligands to stabilize metal-ligand multiple bonds for oxidative group transfer reactions. Typical catalysis studies concentrate on aziridination or epoxidation. In the second area, we utilize triazoles for the development of new metal-organic nanotubes (MONTs). These novel materials are studied on the bulk and nanoscale. The third area employs NHCs as ligands for metal surfaces of nanoparticles. These coated materials have many potential applications in medicine and electronics. To characterize the broad spectrum of compounds and materials that we synthesize, we apply a wide variety of analytical techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance and other spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, porosity measurements, and X-ray diffraction, including both powder and single crystal.