Professor Topczewski receives NSF CAREER award
Professor Joseph Topczewski has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, supporting his research on palladium or gold catalyzed decarboxylative functionalization of (hetero) arenes. Functionalized arenes are components in prevalent dyes, pharmaceuticals, flavors, agrochemicals, and organic electronics. The award is $520,000 over five years.
This research project, supported by the Chemical Synthesis Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry, is focusing on developing more efficient methods for organic synthesis. In this research, traditional starting materials are replaced with readily available, lower energy, safer, and less toxic carboxylic acids. Professor Topczewski and his students are developing new synthetic methods for the decarboxylative cross-coupling and functionalization of (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids. This research focuses on the mechanistic elucidation of the reaction cycle, optimization of the ligand and metal complexes, expansion of the substrate scope, and the development of a broader array of functionalization reactions. Several metal complexes and mechanisms of decarboxylative coupling are being investigated.
The broader impacts of this work include revitalizing and transforming undergraduate organic chemistry courses, bringing a focus on advanced manufacturing method for the chemical industry, recruiting a diverse cohort of scientists to be trained as next generation leaders in the chemical community, and promoting outreach through Market Science, which brings science fair-like demonstrations for farmers' markets.
Topczewski has been a professor in the Department of Chemistry since 2015. His lab focuses on developing new and efficient methods of chemical synthesis, developing highly selective reactions and on reactions that exploit dynamic systems, and the selective differentiation of allylic azides. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin, and his doctorate at the University of Iowa. He was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan.