John Gladysz | Department of Chemistry

John Gladysz
Distinguished Professor
Dow Chair in Chemical Invention

Contact

Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3255

P: 979-845-1399
F: 979-845-4719
gladysz@chem.tamu.edu

Researcher ID

Web Sites

Gladysz Research Group

Areas & Divisions

Current Activities

My research has traditionally been centered around organometallic chemistry, and from this core area branches into catalysis, organic synthesis, enantioselective reactions, stereochemistry, mechanism, and materials chemistry. About half of my group is involved with catalysis projects. Areas receiving emphasis include (a) structurally novel new families of highly enantioselective catalysts, (b) metal-containing "organocatalysts" and (c) recoverable catalysts, particularly those with "ponytails" of the formula (CH₂)_m(CF₂)_nF; these can be recycled via "fluorous" liquid or solid phases, such as Teflon. The other half of my group synthesizes organometallic building blocks for molecular devices. These include (a) molecular wires composed of metal endgroups and linear (sp) carbon chains, including stable species with C₂₈ bridges, (b) analogs in which the charge-transmitting bridges are insulated by a pair of polymethylene or (CH₂)_n chains that adopt a double-helical conformation, (c) polygons and multistranded molecular wires based upon such building blocks, and (d) molecular gyroscopes and compasses consisting of a rotating ML_n fragment and an external cage (stator) that insulates the rotator from neighboring molecules, exactly as with the commercial gyroscopes used for aircraft and space-station navigation.

Educational Background

B. S., 1971, University of Michigan

Ph. D., 1974, Stanford University

Awards & Recognition

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow 1980-1984
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar 1980-1985
Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (American Chemical Society) 1988
University of Utah Distinguished Research Award 1992
American Chemical Society Award in Organometallic Chemistry 1994
von Humboldt Foundation Research Award for Senior Scientists 1995-1996
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 2004
International Fluorous Technologies Award 2007
Fellow of the American Chemical Society (inaugural 2009 class) 2009
Editor-in-Chief of Organometallics 2010-2014
Texas A&M Distinguished Achievement Award in Research 2013
Royal Society of Chemistry Award in Organometallic Chemistry 2013
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry 2014
Texas A&M Foundation Partner in Philanthropy Faculty Award 2017

Selected Publications

"Launching Werner Complexes into the Modern Era of Catalytic Enantioselective Organic Synthesis", Wegener, A. R.; Kabes, C. Q.; Gladysz, J. A. Acc. Chem. Res. 2020, 53, 2299-2313. DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00410.
"Gyroscopes and the Chemical Literature, 2002-2020: Approaches to a Nascent Family of Molecular Devices", Ehnbom, A.; Gladysz, J. A. Chem. Rev. 2021, 121, 3701-3750. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01001.
"Macrocyclic Complexes Derived from Four cis-L₂Pt Corners and Four Butadiynediyl Linkers; Syntheses, Electronic Structures, and Square versus Skew Rhombus Geometries", Collins, B. K.; Mastry, M. C.; Ehnbom, A.; Bhuvanesh, N.; Hall, M. B.; Gladysz, J. A. Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 10021-10039. DOI: 10.1002/chem.202100305.
"Chiral Cobalt(III) tris(1,2-Diamine) Catalysts that Incorporate Nitrogeneous Base Containing Anions for the Bifunctional Activation of Nucleophiles and Electrophiles in Enantioselective Addition Reactions", Kabes, C. Q.; Lucas, R.; Gunn, J. H.; Gladysz, J. A. ACS Catalysis 2021, 11, 7762-7771. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c01883.
"Syntheses, Homeomorphic and Configurational Isomerizations, and Structures of Macrocyclic Aliphatic Dibrigehead Diphosphines: Molecules that Turn Themselves Inside Out", Zhu, Y.; Stollenz, M.; Zarcone, S. R.; Kharel, S.; Hemant, J.; Bhuvanesh, N.; Reibenspiess, J. H.; Gladysz, J. A. Chem. Sci. 2022, 13, 13368-13386. DOI: 10.1039/D2SC04 724A.