Professor Rose Kennedy

Professor C. Rose Kennedy
Department of Chemistry
University of Rochester

Design of 3d Metal Complexes for Cooperative Catalysis & Mechanistic Insight

Over the past 4 decades, transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling and olefin functionalization reactions have transformed the discovery and manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pigments, and materials. However, responsible sourcing of preferred precious metal catalysts (like Pd, Rh, or Ir) has become increasingly challenging with ongoing geopolitical conflict and inconsistent labor practices. This limited availability thus hinders the sustainability and economic viability of these processes. Despite the clear impetus to pursue reaction development with more terrestrially abundant elements, first-row (3d) transition metals are not typically suitable as direct substitutes for their precious metal congeners. Nonetheless, there is growing interest in exploring the unique reactivity of earth-abundant and relatively inexpensive 3d metals such as Ni to generate novel products and/or take advantage of substrate combinations that remain difficult to access with Pd. However, compared with the detailed understanding of the fundamental reactivity of precious metals informed by decades of mechanistic elucidation, the identity, speciation, and controlling features of 3d metal catalysts remain poorly defined in many cases, thus limiting their development. Here, I will describe my team’s progress using well-defined nickel and copper precatalysts to tease apart the structural features and mechanistic steps necessary for achieving high activity and chemoselectivity in cross coupling and olefin functionalization reactions. Our work relies on a synergy between mechanistic study of and precatalyst design for homogeneous catalysis, taking advantage of cooperative design principles informed by heterogeneous and biological catalysis. These insights are translated into the design of novel catalyst structures and synthetic transformations with enhanced efficiency.

Rose Kennedy

Rose Kennedy is currently the James P. Wilmot Distinguished Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rochester. Previously, Rose earned her PhD from Harvard University (2017), working with Professor Eric Jacobsen on enantioselective, ion-binding organocatalysis. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research with Professor Paul Chirik at Princeton University (2017–2019), where she developed iron-catalyzed methods for the elaboration of simple hydrocarbons. In 2020, Rose began her independent career at the University of Rochester, where her research group uses mechanistic analysis and bioinspired design principles to guide the development of transition-metal- catalyzed methods. Rose has been recognized with awards including a Packard Fellowship, NIH Maximizing Investigator Research Award, NSF CAREER Award, Kavli Fellowship, Thieme Chemistry Journals Award, ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Young Investigator Award, and Amgen Young Investigator Award.

Host: Prof. Alexander Grenning