Matthew Platz
University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI·Chemistry
Carbenes are short-lived molecules with a carbon atom that has only two bonds instead of the usual four. This makes them highly reactive intermediates in many chemical reactions.
- Fields
Chemistry
- Topics
carbenes
reactive intermediates
photochemistry
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2028
What they work on
- Synthesize diazirines, diazo compounds and oxadiazolines as light-activated sources of carbenes, the reactive two-bonded carbon intermediates, for photochemical studies.
- Test theoretical predictions of a new carbene rearrangement mechanism by measuring how the Z/E ratio of alkene products changes with excitation wavelength and methanol concentration after monochromatic UV-vis irradiation.
- Measure carbene lifetimes and reactivities using femtosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, and model carbene reactions with computational chemistry, with collaborators at The Ohio State University.
More about the research
Theory predicts a new photochemical reaction mechanism in which carbenes formed by light behave differently depending on how much energy the absorbed light carries. In particular, carbenes created in an excited, higher-energy state may rearrange differently from relaxed ones. This project sets out to test those predictions experimentally.
Why it matters
This is basic chemistry. Testing whether excited carbenes follow a distinct, energy-dependent rearrangement pathway would check advanced theoretical predictions about reactive intermediates. It could refine how chemists understand and control light-driven reactions. The project also gives economically challenged and underrepresented undergraduates in Hawai'i hands-on training in synthesis, photochemistry and computation.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Dasan Thamattoor
Colby College, ME·Chemistry
Generate singlet vinylcarbenes from cyclopropanated phenanthrene precursors and determine their structure and reactivity, given their proposed role in cyclopropene isomerizations and related synthetic transformations.
Claudia Turro
Ohio State University, OH·Chemistry
Determine whether fast population of the metal-centered triplet ligand field (3LF) state is required for light-triggered ligand exchange in Ru(II) complexes, or whether exchange can occur directly from the 3MLCT state, using ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopy.
Christopher Sandford
University of Texas at San Antonio, TX·Chemistry
Develop an organometallic catalyst whose site selectivity switches when irradiated with different wavelengths of visible or ultraviolet light, so one catalyst can react at different sites on a molecule.
The school
University of Hawaii at Manoa: 23 labs on PI Pages, $376M a year on research, 182 research doctorates a year.
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