Ulrich Fekl

We focus on transition metal complexes, where we are making fundamental contributions toward solving challenging problems in various areas, with applications in synthesis and materials. A theme of current interest are redox-active (‘non-innocent’) ligands, and how we can use their strange and unusual reactivity for new applications. Applications include reactions with alkenes and new cross-coupling reactions. Funded by a recent ACS-PRF (‘New Directions’) grant, we are also working on new diamondoid materials, based on adamantane and new adamantane functionalizations. We routinely work with highly air- and water-sensitive materials under high vacuum and protective atmosphere. Experimental work is complemented by quantum chemistry. We are using the SciNet supercomputer cluster for DFT computations.