Current Activities
Catalysis lies at the heart of many unmet chemical challenges. Research efforts in our group focus on development of new
catalytic chemistry to impact both chemical synthesis as well as chemical storage of solar energy. Projects span organic,
organometallic, and inorganic chemistries and rely on the tools of modern synthetic chemistry and spectroscopy, as well as
advanced characterization techniques supported at synchrotron X-ray sources. Representative research interests include:
shape-selective catalysis, solar energy storage in organic solar-thermal flow batteries, and aerobic oxidation chemistry for
C–H functionalization reactions. We are seeking students who wish to gain expertise in synthetic chemistry and reaction
mechanism elucidation.
Educational Background
B. A., 2006, Franklin and Marshall College
Ph. D., 2011, Harvard University
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, 2011-2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University
Awards & Recognition
- DOE Early Career Award
- NSF CAREER Award
- 2019 ACS Organic Division Academic Young Investigator
- Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar
- 2020 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow
- National Institutes of Health Outstanding Investigator Award (MIRA-Maximizing Investigators' Research Award)
Selected Publications
- Van Trieste, G. P., III; Reid, K. A.; Hicks, M. H.; Das, A.; Figgins, M. T.; Bhuvanesh, N.; Ozarowski, A.; Telser, J.; Powers, D. C. Nitrene Photochemistry of Manganese N-Haloamides. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 26647–26655.
- Das, A.; Wang, C.-H.; Van Trieste, G. P., III; Sun, C.-J.; Chen, Y.-S.; Reibenspies, J. H.; Powers, D. C. In Crystallo Snapshots of Rh2-Catalyzed C–H Amination. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 19862–19867.
- Gao, W.-Y.; Sur, A.; Wang, C.-H.; Lorzing, G. R.; Antonio, A. M.; Ezazi, A. A.; Bhuvanesh, N.; Bloch, E. D.; Powers, D. C. Atomically Precise Crystalline Materials Based on Kinetically Inert Metal Ions via Reticular Mechanopolymerization. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 10878–10883.
- Maity, A.; Frey, B. L.; Hoskinson, N. D.; Powers, D. C. Electrocatalytic C–N Coupling via Anodically Generated Hypervalent Iodine Intermediates. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 4990–4995.