Laura Turculet

Assistant Professor, 2005 NSERC University Faculty Award Recipient

BSc (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), PhD (University of California at Berkeley),

E-mail: laura.turculet@dal.ca
Office:  Chemistry 414
Phone: (902) 494-6414
Fax: (902) 494-1310

*  Accepting Graduate Students.
 
Research Interests: Synthetic Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry and Reactivity; New Materials Synthesis.

Goals include the design and construction of new and reactive low-coordinate transition metal complexes that feature metals in unusual bonding environments and/or oxidation states; and the development of new metal-mediated methodologies for inorganic, organic, and polymer synthesis. 
 
Approach: Research in the Turculet group is focused on the design, synthesis, and study of reactive, well-defined transition metal complexes of unique construction. Key to this endeavor is the development of new types of structurally simple auxiliary ligands that enforce unusual bonding environments for both early and late transition metals, in anticipation that this will lead to new and/or improved metal-mediated reactivity. We are especially interested in designing ligands that incorporate unusual donor fragments, as well as bifunctional ligands that can help to orient substrate molecules within the coordination sphere of a transition metal. Specific metal-mediated reactivity being addressed includes polymerization chemistry, atom/group transfer chemistry, and the activation of robust sigma bonds, e.g. C-H, Si-H, C-O, C-N.

Significance: These studies seek to advance our understanding of how metal-ligand interactions influence metal-centered reactivity. Such insights, when coupled with data obtained from mechanistic investigations, will provide the basis for the development of fundamentally new and synthetically useful stoichiometric or catalytic reactions.

Methods: Projects in the Turculet group are multidisciplinary, providing experience in the synthesis and characterization of organic, main group, and transition metal compounds, as well as polymers. Glovebox and vacuum line techniques for the handling of air and moisture sensitive materials are utilized routinely in our studies.

A variety of spectroscopic and analytical techniques are employed to characterize new compounds and materials, optimize synthetic conditions, and measure reaction kinetics; foremost among these are multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and cyclic voltammetry.

Funding: The Turculet research group currently receives funding from the following sources:

• The Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
• The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
• Dalhousie University, Faculty of Science
• Dalhousie University, Department of Chemistry