Lecture 4
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Lecture 4
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International Mobility
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Lecture 4
Speaker:??Professor?Xiaotai Wang
Xiaotai Wang?received his undergraduate and Master’s education in?China. Afterwards?he won a full scholarship from the University of Virginia, which brought him to the US to pursue?a?PhD in chemistry. This was followed by two short postdocs?at?the University of Utah and Iowa State University.?His?PhD and postdoc work were concerned with the synthesis and reactivity of organometallic compounds. After beginning his independent career?in the US, Dr. Wang studied the synthesis and properties of?a class of advanced materials known as?metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).?Dr. Wang’s current research interests are in computational organometallic chemistry, with a focus on?studying?the?mechanisms of transition metal-catalyzed?synthetically useful?reactions. Research in this direction?addresses the experimental–theoretical synergy and provides ideas and insights for new reaction development.?
Dr.?Xiaotai?Wang joined Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) as a professor of chemistry in November 2022. He had previously worked at the University of?Colorado?Denver, moving up the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor (tenured), and professor (tenured). He was a visiting professor/scholar at MIT, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,?and the Hoffmann Institute?in Shenzhen. Working at XJTLU, a unique international university in China, Dr. Wang aims to cultivate future generations of scientists and world citizens.
Topic:?Catalysis:?Changing the?World for the Better??
Abstract: Catalysis?is?the speeding up of a?chemical?reaction by adding a small amount of a substance known as a catalyst. The?catalyst?gets regenerated and recycled after the reaction.?Catalysis plays a crucial role in?many?industrial processes, contributing to 35% of the world’s GDP. The Nobel prize?in chemistry?has been awarded?seven?times?for catalysis.?Contemporary?catalytic science is notable for both conceptual and technical innovation, and it has three pillars:?transition metal?(TM)?catalysis, organocatalysis, and biocatalysis.?This talk will introduce these?subfields?of catalysis to a general audience, with a focus on?TM?catalysis, which has revolutionized?both?the art of chemical synthesis?in?research?labs?and?the?manufacturing of chemical?products?in industry.?Recently with the growing relevance of sustainability, there has been much effort?to develop catalysts based on Earth-abundant?transition metals?to achieve sustainable catalysis. In?TM-catalyzed reactions, the intermediate chemical species?are frequently highly reactive?and not easily observable by experiment.?Thus, computational modeling?can play a critical role in revealing the detailed?mechanism?of?TM?catalysis, and?this?is my field of study. I will show?examples?of?our?computational?studies of cutting-edge?TM?catalysis, which not only rationalize experimental?facts, but also?gain?novel insights?that can guide?further experimental work.???
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