Organometallics for Clean Energy Conversion

Undergraduate

This course exposes students to the use of organometallic chemistry for clean energy conversion. The content will be broken up into four major sub-sections regarding Earth’s hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles. Topics of interest will include (but are not limited to): i) assessing the energy challenge; ii) nuclear energy; iii) hydrogen as an energy carrier in fuel cells; iv) recent developments in CO2 hydrogenation; v) assessing global need for ammonia formation and utilization; and vi) homogeneous water oxidation. In each of these areas, students are expected to develop a basic understanding of the factors that govern chemical reactivity to propose new catalysts from scratch. Emphasis will be placed on honing students’ writing skills, mastering careful literature evaluation, and providing strong oral presentations. (Prerequisite CHEM-3500.) (3 lecture hours/week.) (May be offered as cross-career with course CHEM-8535.)