凯瑟琳·米. 范Heuvelen 研究

Developing Bio-Inspired Catalysts

Metalloenzymes found in biological systems catalyze a remarkable range of reactions with impressive efficiency and selectivity, and these reactions occur under benign conditions using earth-abundant materials. The 范Heuvelen lab draws inspiration from nature to develop new, environmentally friendly catalysts for important reactions.

We are currently studying the dechlorination of carcinogenic pollutants perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene. Metalloenzymes containing cobalt or nickel have been shown to remediate these pollutants. We synthesize small molecular mimics of metalloenzyme active sites and evaluate their reactivity. Insights into the fundamental chemistry that governs these reactions will be used to improve our catalyst design. We also study our compounds using computational methods.

学生 interested in this work are encouraged to contact Prof. 范赫维伦 vanheuvelen@g.zjhsycw.com to talk about opportunities in the lab.

Experimental Expertise

Air-free synthesis (standard Schlenk techniques), 气相, 高效液相色谱法, MS Spectroscopic Expertise: UV-visible Absorption, 红外, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Magnetic Circular Dichroism, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, x射线吸收, x射线辐射.

Computational Expertise

Density Functional Theory (DFT), Time-Dependent DFT, QM/MM, XSEDE Supercomputing System.