The Henderson group is interested primarily in synthetic main group chemistry, with an emphasis on the utility and function of highly polar complexes containing the s- and early p-block elements. A central theme is elucidating the structure of compounds containing these elements and unraveling the factors governing their formation. A particular focus is creating materials that will be of use in energy-related chemical research such as separation science and energy storage. For more information on energy-related activity see the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) website here.

One program is concentrated on developing a range of group 1, 2 and 13 organometallic reagents to mediate a series of key organic transformations. The approach taken is to first understand the chemistry of the organometallic itself and then use this information to design novel reagents to maximize their reactivity and selectivity in specific reactions. A continuing focus is the synthesis of chemical reagents that are readily made, inexpensive, non-toxic, environmentally benign and useful in a number of important applications.

A parallel program is involved in developing rational synthetic routes for the preparation of structurally well-defined solid-state materials. This is an area of widespread interest due to the potential of such materials in technologically important applications including catalysis, chemical separations, small molecule storage, optics and electronics. One approach of the Henderson group utilizes specific alkali metal aggregates as building blocks to direct network assembly. This strategy has resulted in the successful preparation of a series of extended network materials whose topologies may be controlled by altering the size and shape of the molecular building blocks. Current work involves preparing functional materials, including chiral frameworks, porous solids and solid-state reagents.

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