Project Area A
Reversible Coordination to Metal Centers
In this project area we will investigate if and how the course of photochemical and photocatalytic reactions can be initiated and controlled by the assembly of chromophores and substrates around metal centers via reversible coordination.
A01: Visible Light Mediated Coupling Reactions via Photoexcitation of Earth-Abundant Metal-Substrate Assemblies: Regio- and Stereoselective C,H-Activation by Directed HAT Processes
Extending our work of Cu(I)- and Cu(II)-substrate assemblies for the difunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes, we will design earth-abundant metal-based photocatalysts (focusing on Cu, but extending to Fe, Ni, Co, and Ce) that bear ligands acting as hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reagents. The sterically and electronically tunable environment surrounding the metal center will be exploited for chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective hydrofunctionalizations of alkenes and redox-neutral carbon-carbon couplings of aldehydes or imines. We aim to modulate established selectivity patterns through directed hydrogen atom abstraction (HAT) and hydrogen atom delivery (HAD).
Organic Chemistry, Synthesis
Prof. Dr. Oliver Reiser
Publications
Current Publications:
Reichle, Alexander; Koch, Magdalena; Sterzel, Hannes; Großkopf, Lea-Joy; Floss, Johannes; Rehbein, Julia; Reiser, Oliver: Copper(I) Photocatalyzed Bromonitroalkylation of Olefins: Evidence for Highly Efficient Inner-Sphere Pathways, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 62, 2023, e202219086 ⇒ See Publication
Key Publications:
Engl, Sebastian; Reiser, Oliver: Copper makes the difference: Visible-Light-Mediated Atom Transfer Radical Addition (ATRA) Reactions of Iodoform with Olefins, ACS Catal., 10, 2020, 17, 9899–9906 ⇒ See Publication
A02: Light-Induced Homolysis (LIH) of 3d-Metal-Substrate Complexes as a Starting Point for Organic Reactions
Light-induced homolysis (LIH) of metal-substrate complexes is promising for the generation of radicals, which are mostly utilized to initiate hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) processes. In this project, we will systematically explore—supported by computational chemistry, machine learning, and spectroscopy—(a) new metal-ligand combinations that promote LIH-processes beyond HAT, and (b) new catalysts that address the reoxidation of the catalyst avoiding stoichiometric oxidants. Furthermore, we will leverage the complementarity of MLCT, LMCT, and HAT processes, which generate the same radical intermediates but show different reactivity due to their interaction with photocatalysts.
Organic Chemistry, Synthesis
Prof. Dr. Oliver Reiser
Publications
Current Publications:
Reichle, Alexander; Reiser, Oliver: Light-induced homolysis of copper(II)-complexes – a perspective for photocatalysis, Chem. Sci., 14, 2023, 4449 ⇒ See Publication
Zhao, Quan-Qing, Rehbein, Julia, Reiser, Oliver: Thermoneutral synthesis of spiro-1,4- cyclohexadienes by visible-light-driven dearomatization of benzylmalonates, Green Chem., 24, 2022, 2772-2776 ⇒ See Publication
Reichle, Alexander; Sterzel, Hannes; Kreitmeier, Peter; Fayad, Remi; Castellano, Felix N.; Rehbein, Julia; Reiser, Oliver: Copper(II)-photocatalyzed decarboxylative oxygenation of carboxylic acid, Chem. Commun., 58, 2022, 4456-4459: ⇒ See Publication
Key Publications:
Abderrazak, Youssef; Bhattacharyya, Aditya; Reiser, Oliver: Visible‐Light‐Induced Homolysis of Earth‐Abundant Metal‐Substrate Complexes: A Complementary Activation Strategy in Photoredox Catalysis, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60, 2021, 21100-21115: ⇒ See Publication
Fayad, Remi; Engl, Sebastian; Danilov, Evgeny O.; Hauke, Cory E.; Reiser, Oliver; Castellano, Felix N.: Direct Evidence of Visible Light-Induced Homolysis (VLIH) in Chlorobis (2,9‐dimethyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline)copper(II), J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 11, 2020, 5345-5349: ⇒ See Publication
A03: Photocatalysis with Reversibly Coordinating Metal Complexes
Photo-nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have been realized for most bond formations, including C-C, C-N, C-O, and C-S bonds. The aim of project A03 is to establish photo-Nickel coupling conditions that enable efficient coupling in aqueous media. Our goal is to couple salts, peptides, oligonucelotides and carbohydrates in aqueous solution at ambient temperatures. To achieve this, a precise control of the assembly of the metal complex, sensitizer, and substrate in water is essential. The long-term goal is to selectively functionalize non-protected oligopeptides, antibodies, oligonucleotides, and carbohydrates.
Organic Chemistry, Synthesis
Prof. Dr. Burkhard König
Publications
Key Publications:
Das, Kousik; Saha, Nayan; Li, Zhuofan; Ghosh, Indrajit; König, Burkhard: Generalizing Vinyl Halide Cross-Coupling Reactions with Photoredox and Photoredox/Nickel Dual Catalysis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202510715
Delgado, José A. C.; Tian, Ya-Ming; Marcon, Michela; König, Burkhard; Paixão, Márcio W.: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 26452−26462
Nikitin, Maksim; Ötvös, Sándor B.; Ghosh, Indrajit; Philipp, Maximilian; Gschwind, Ruth; Kappe, Oliver C.; König, Burkhard: Brønsted Acid-Facilitated Thioetherification Cross-Coupling Reactions with Nickel and Visible Light. ACS Catal. 2025, 15, 1467−1476
Ghosh, Indrajit; Shlapakov, Nikita; Karl, Tobias A.; Düker, Jonas; Nikitin, Maksim; Burykina, Julia V.; Ananikov, Valentine P.; König, Burkhard: General cross-coupling reactions with adaptive dynamic homogeneous catalysis. Nature 2023, 619, 87-93
A04: Preassembly Effects in the Photochemistry 3d Transition Metal Complexes and Synthetic Phosphorus Chemistry
This project examines photoinduced electron transfer processes of octahedral 3d transition metal photocatalysts for catalytic transformations. Spectroscopic and quantum chemical studies will illuminate the influence of substrate-catalyst preassembly on electron transfer reactions between metal complexes and substrate molecules. Moreover, the project will utilize assembly-controlled photochemical processes for the catalytic synthesis of organophosphorus compounds directly from abundant feedstocks (e.g., white phosphorus and phosphine oxides).
Coordination Chemistry, Synthesis
Prof. Dr. Robert Wolf
Publications
Key Publications:
Rodriguez-Lugo, Rafael E; Sander, Joan; Rückel, Jannes; Landaeta, Vanessa R.; Park, Jiyong; Nuernberger, Patrick; Baik, Mu-Hyun; Wolf, Robert: Mechanistic insights into the visible-light-driven Oarylation of carboxylic acids catalyzed by xanthine based nickel complexes. Chem. Sci. 16, 2025, 2751
Rückel, Jannes; Pavlovska, Tetiana; Gawron, Martin; Cibulka, Radek; Wolf, Robert: Deazaflavin-Catalyzed Arylation of White Phosphorus with Aryl Bromides and Chlorides. Adv. Synth. Catal., 367: e70005.
Märsch, Julia; Reiter, Sebastian; Rittner, Thomas, Rodriguez-Lugo, Rafael E; Whitfield, Maximilian, Scott, Daniel J., Kutta, Roger Jan, Nuernberger, Patrick, de Vivie-Riedle, Regina, Wolf, Robert: Cobalt-Mediated Photochemical C-H Arylation of Pyrroles. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, 2024, e202405780
Rothfelder, Robin; Streitferdt, Verena; Lennert, Ulrich, Cammarata, Jose, Scott, Daniel J.; Zeitler, Kirsten; Gschwind, Ruth M.; Wolf, Robert: Photocatalytic Arylation of P4 and PH3: Reaction Development Through Mechanistic Insight. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60, 2021, 24650–24658
A05: Monitoring and Exploiting Short-Lived Intermediates in Assembly-Controlled Photocatalytic Processes
Benefits for photocatalysis by circumventing limitations related to short-lived excited states are scrutinized. The photocatalytic potential of pre-coordinated species, realized through dispersion interactions, binding to metal centers, hydrogen bonding, geminate formation, and confining environments, is studied by time-resolved spectroscopy (femtoseconds to minutes) in the UV/Vis and IR spectral range combined with variation of temperature, pressure and external fields. Via the essential close collaboration within the CRC the time-resolved studies will also contribute to the overall understanding of other projects.
Physical Chemistry, Spectroscopy
Prof. Dr. Patrick Nürnberger
A06: Interrogating Radical Intermediates with Time-Resolved EPR (TR-EPR)
A07: Bimetallic Photocatalyst Assemblies
A08: Ab Initio Modeling of Time-Resolved Spectra of Photoactive Assemblies
Using ab initio molecular dynamics, we will study structure and dynamics of formation and dissociation of photocatalytic systems. In four work packages, we aim to reveal reaction mechanisms atomistically: WP1 studies ground state conformational equilibrium, WP2 calculates UV/Vis spectra, WP3 simulates excited state dynamics via non-adiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) and WP4 models experimental signals to interpret time-resolved spectra. We will study complexes of cobalt (A04, A05), Lewis acids and quinoline (B01), and hydrogen-bonded complexes (B07, B08). Furthermore, we use synergies between theory projects C05 and B09, in spectroscopic characterization, and conformational sampling, respectively.
Theoretical Chemistry
Prof. Dr. Enrico Tapavicza
Publications
Key Publications:
Lucia-Tamudo, Jesús; Menkel-Lantz-Michelle; Tapavicza, Enrico: First principles prediction of wavelength-dependent isomerization quantum yields of a second-generation molecular nanomotor, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 27, 2025, 12519-12531.
Erhard, Alexander; Falge, Benjamin; Arp, Felice; Lucia Tamudo, Jesús; Rittner, Till; Tapavicza, Enrico; Nuernberger, Patrick; Wolf, Robert: Photochemical arylation reactions mediated by a terpyridine cobalt complex, Europ. J. Org. Chem., 2025, e202500398.
