Research in my group focuses on using readily-available starting materials and designing new catalytic cycles in order to utilize them to generate more complex products. In order to do this, we utilize fundamental organometallic and inorganic chemistry to develop new organic reactions.
Project 1: C–C Coupling with Early Transition Metals - Early transition metals have long been known to perform facile C–H activation but these C–H activated intermediates are often underutilized. Work in my group will be on the development of new C–C coupling reactions utilizing these intermediates.
Project 2: Radical Cross Electrophile Coupling - The group will be working on new methods for cross electrophile coupling to stereoselectively generate alkyl-alkyl bonds. We will develop exciting new catalytic cycles for this transformation through understanding the relationship between fundamental organometallic chemistry to organic synthesis.
Project 3: Aryne Difunctionalization Catalysis - Arynes are potent electrophiles that are widely used in the synthesis of biologically active molecules. Reactions involving these intermediates are often plagued with poor selectivity. We will use transition metal catalysis to control selectivity and expand the scope of possible difunctionalization reactions with arynes.
Honors and Awards
American Chemical Society Leadership Development Award, 2021
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013-2016
Natural Sciences Division Outstanding Research Student – Pepperdine University, 2011
Mailing Address
Courtney C. Roberts
University of Minnesota
Department of Chemistry
B-3, 139 Smith Hall, 207 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0431
