Understanding biological nitrogen fixation: an investigation of multi-electron reduction catalysis at novel iron-sulfur clusters. A new class of iron-sulfur clusters held together by a central light atom will be prepared and their reactions thoroughly studied. These clusters are important because they will have the same structure as the iron-molybdenum cluster of the enzyme nitrogenase. This enzyme fixes atmospheric nitrogen as ammonia. It is the primary route of nitrogen entry into all living s ....Understanding biological nitrogen fixation: an investigation of multi-electron reduction catalysis at novel iron-sulfur clusters. A new class of iron-sulfur clusters held together by a central light atom will be prepared and their reactions thoroughly studied. These clusters are important because they will have the same structure as the iron-molybdenum cluster of the enzyme nitrogenase. This enzyme fixes atmospheric nitrogen as ammonia. It is the primary route of nitrogen entry into all living systems. Industrially ammonia is produced in an energy-demanding process on a vast scale. The studies will provide insights into how nitrogenase works and how to design new multi-electron reduction catalysts. The research may lead to new energy-efficient routes to ammonia and to other new alternative fuel sources. Such processes would transform Australian industry and how we live.Read moreRead less
Development and Biological Chemistry of Novel Platinum Anti-Cancer Agents. "Rule-breakers", platinum anticancer complexes that do not follow the well established structure/activity relationships, have emerged as the way forward in the treatment of cancer resistant to the current generation of drugs and in reducing side effects. We have developed two new groups of "rule-breakers" and these have already demonstrated highly promising anticancer activity and novel biological behaviour. In this proje ....Development and Biological Chemistry of Novel Platinum Anti-Cancer Agents. "Rule-breakers", platinum anticancer complexes that do not follow the well established structure/activity relationships, have emerged as the way forward in the treatment of cancer resistant to the current generation of drugs and in reducing side effects. We have developed two new groups of "rule-breakers" and these have already demonstrated highly promising anticancer activity and novel biological behaviour. In this project we will (i) prepare new anticancer active platinum complexes based on these two highly promising groups of compounds and (ii) determine how these drugs work and what happens to them when in biological environments.Read moreRead less
A new metalloprotein-inspired methodology for energy-efficient chemical reduction. Chemical reduction, a core process in chemistry and industry, is carried out on an enormous scale using present-day technology that is extremely energy wasteful and irreversibly consumes resources. This project aims to provide a new sustainable methodology for chemical reduction using sophisticated bio-inspired metal (electro) catalysts.
Reactions of Coordinated Dinitrogen. The program will develop novel metal-based catalysts and reagents that will transform nitrogen gas into ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds (nitrogen fixation). This fundamental chemical transformation underpins major chemical industries and this new approach using organometallic catalysts will significantly improve the efficiency of ammonia production and reduce the energy and harsh reaction conditions currently required. This program will desi ....Reactions of Coordinated Dinitrogen. The program will develop novel metal-based catalysts and reagents that will transform nitrogen gas into ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds (nitrogen fixation). This fundamental chemical transformation underpins major chemical industries and this new approach using organometallic catalysts will significantly improve the efficiency of ammonia production and reduce the energy and harsh reaction conditions currently required. This program will design catalysts with multiple complementary metal centres tailored to bind and activate nitrogen gas to facilitate its reaction with hydrogen or other reagents.Read moreRead less
Metallographitic Discs as New Materials. Materials science plays a pivotal role in determining and improving economic performance and quality of life. While application of materials is the ultimate goal, basic understanding of a material's behaviour from the atomic/nano-level to macrostructural level is also of critical importance. This project builds upon the recent success of soluble, well-defined carbon discs in molecular electronics, through the preparation and study of metal-containing deri ....Metallographitic Discs as New Materials. Materials science plays a pivotal role in determining and improving economic performance and quality of life. While application of materials is the ultimate goal, basic understanding of a material's behaviour from the atomic/nano-level to macrostructural level is also of critical importance. This project builds upon the recent success of soluble, well-defined carbon discs in molecular electronics, through the preparation and study of metal-containing derivatives as new advanced crystalline and liquid crystalline materials. The possibility of enhanced electronic, optical and/or magnetic properties, along with good processability, make these materials potential candidates as the active component of future, technologically important devices.Read moreRead less
Adding hydride punch to transition metal complexes for CO2 electroreduction. This project plans to apply an innovative methodology to the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) waste into useful C1 chemicals. The new inorganic chemistry approach is based on the invention of transition metal–organic hydride coordination complexes, which are designed to punch hydride ion (= a proton and two electrons) into metal-activated CO2-derived intermediates. The approach should naturally overcome the ....Adding hydride punch to transition metal complexes for CO2 electroreduction. This project plans to apply an innovative methodology to the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) waste into useful C1 chemicals. The new inorganic chemistry approach is based on the invention of transition metal–organic hydride coordination complexes, which are designed to punch hydride ion (= a proton and two electrons) into metal-activated CO2-derived intermediates. The approach should naturally overcome the two-electron barrier found for today's best transition metal electrocatalysts of CO2 reduction and, hence, enable the selective production of formaldehyde, a four-electron reduction product and bulk industrial feedstock chemical, or methanol, a six-electron reduction product and future transport fuel.Read moreRead less
A new molecular platform for catalytic synthesis of heterocycles. This project aims to address the lack of efficient methods to prepare cyclic molecules of biological relevance by utilising novel molecular platforms developed in our laboratories. This project expects to generate new cyclic molecules using these innovative molecular platforms by employing catalysts to reduce raw material and energy cost. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced chemical technology to prepare cyclic ....A new molecular platform for catalytic synthesis of heterocycles. This project aims to address the lack of efficient methods to prepare cyclic molecules of biological relevance by utilising novel molecular platforms developed in our laboratories. This project expects to generate new cyclic molecules using these innovative molecular platforms by employing catalysts to reduce raw material and energy cost. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced chemical technology to prepare cyclic molecules of pharmaceutical importance and the training of highly skilled PhD students. This should provide significant benefits, such as increased capacity for the development of new pharmaceuticals and advanced materials.Read moreRead less
Alkane transformations through binding to metals. Alkanes are fully saturated hydrocarbons and they are the major components of petroleum, including natural gas and liquid hydrocarbon fuels. They are abundant but finite, and their primary usage has been as fuels since they burn readily and release energy. Alkanes are relatively low-value, high-volume chemical feedstocks which are not easy to convert into more useful value-added materials. This project focuses on developing positively charged met ....Alkane transformations through binding to metals. Alkanes are fully saturated hydrocarbons and they are the major components of petroleum, including natural gas and liquid hydrocarbon fuels. They are abundant but finite, and their primary usage has been as fuels since they burn readily and release energy. Alkanes are relatively low-value, high-volume chemical feedstocks which are not easy to convert into more useful value-added materials. This project focuses on developing positively charged metal-based compounds that can bind directly to alkanes to increase their reactivity and enable their transformation into higher value products such as alcohols and olefins which are important chemical feedstocks.Read moreRead less
Coinage metal nanoclusters: synthesis, structure and reactivity. Metal catalysts play important roles in the multi-billion dollar production of many industrial and fine chemicals used in wide-ranging applications including pharmaceuticals, insecticides and polymers. Despite the importance of metal catalysed reactions, the molecular details of such processes remain poorly understood. Breakthrough studies highlight that reactions previously thought to be catalysed by discrete metal catalysts are i ....Coinage metal nanoclusters: synthesis, structure and reactivity. Metal catalysts play important roles in the multi-billion dollar production of many industrial and fine chemicals used in wide-ranging applications including pharmaceuticals, insecticides and polymers. Despite the importance of metal catalysed reactions, the molecular details of such processes remain poorly understood. Breakthrough studies highlight that reactions previously thought to be catalysed by discrete metal catalysts are in fact catalysed by metal nanoclusters. This project involves the application of advanced mass spectrometric and computational methods to explore the formation and reactivity of copper, silver and gold nanoclusters. Identification of key reactive intermediates will inform the design of next generation catalysts.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of new heterocyclic analogues of isoflavones. Intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, and heart disease. The isoflavones resemble endogenous estradiol in structure, and have been shown to display weak estrogenic activity. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on isoflavones. This collaborative research project deals with the development o ....Synthesis of new heterocyclic analogues of isoflavones. Intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, and heart disease. The isoflavones resemble endogenous estradiol in structure, and have been shown to display weak estrogenic activity. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on isoflavones. This collaborative research project deals with the development of synthetic methodologies for the preparation of new analogues of isoflavone metabolites as potential drug candidates. The target compounds will be evaluated for possible therapeutic use by the industry partner.Read moreRead less