Research

Hydrocarbons are an indispensable component of modern life with applications ranging from fuels to plastics. Iron catalysts, supported by redox-active ligands, enable new transformations from the fundamental building blocks of the chemical industry. Specifically, we have developed selective iron-catalyzed [2+2] and [4+4] cycloaddition reactions of feedstock alkenes and dienes, providing pathways to upgrade bioderived hydrocarbons. In the case of cyclobutane products, the reactions are reversible opening a gateway to chemically recyclable polyolefins. Efforts are devoted to expanding the scope of iron catalysts capable of such cycloaddition transformations and to synthesize new hydrocarbon architectures towards accessing sustainable aviation fuels and chemically recyclable plastics.

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Selected Publications

Iron-catalysed synthesis and chemical recycling of telechelic 1,3-enchained oligocyclobutanes
Megan Mohadjer Beromi, C. Rose Kennedy, Jarod M. Younker, Alex Carpenter, Sarah J. Mattler, Joseph A. Throckmorton, and Paul J. Chirik
Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 156–162.

Catalyst Design Principles Enabling Intermolecular Alkene-Diene [2+2] Cycloaddition and Depolymerization Reactions
Megan Mohadjer Beromi, Jarod M. Younker, Hongyu Zhong, Tyler P. Pabst, and Paul J. Chirik
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 17793–17805.

Regio- and Diastereoselective Iron-Catalyzed [4+4]-Cycloaddition of 1,3-Dienes
C. Rose Kennedy, Hongyu Zhong, Rachel L. Macaulay, and Paul J. Chirik
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 8557–8573.

[4+4]-Cycloaddition of Isoprene for the production of High-Performance Bio-Based Jet Fuel
Kyle Rosenkoetter, C. Rose Kennedy, Paul Chirik, and Benjamin Grant Harvey
Green Chem. 2019, 21, 5616–5623.

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