Tuesday, February 17, 2026
4:00 PM -
5:00 PM
Noyes 153 (J. Holmes Sturdivant Lecture Hall)
Chemistry Club Seminar
Series: Organic Chemistry Seminar Series
Excited-State Catalysts for Selective Bond Activations
Robert R. Knowles,
Professor of Chemistry,
Department of Chemistry,
Princeton University,
Speaker's Bio:
A native of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Rob received a B.S. in chemistry from the College of William and Mary in 2003. He went on to receive his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from Caltech in 2008 for his work on natural product synthesis in the labs of Dave MacMillan. Following his doctoral work, Rob moved to Eric Jacobsen’s lab at Harvard University as a NIH postdoctoral fellow, where his work focused on asymmetric catalysis and new reaction development. Rob joined the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University in the summer of 2011, where his group’s work has focused primarily on the applications of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) in organic synthesis. In 2017, he was promoted to Professor of Chemistry, and in 2025 was named the Henry W. Putnam Professor of Chemistry.
A native of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Rob received a B.S. in chemistry from the College of William and Mary in 2003. He went on to receive his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from Caltech in 2008 for his work on natural product synthesis in the labs of Dave MacMillan. Following his doctoral work, Rob moved to Eric Jacobsen’s lab at Harvard University as a NIH postdoctoral fellow, where his work focused on asymmetric catalysis and new reaction development. Rob joined the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University in the summer of 2011, where his group’s work has focused primarily on the applications of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) in organic synthesis. In 2017, he was promoted to Professor of Chemistry, and in 2025 was named the Henry W. Putnam Professor of Chemistry.
In this presentation, I will describe a new class of photocatalysts for proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) activation of aliphatic C–H and N–H bonds. These catalysts pair an iridium-based excited-state oxidant and an associated proton acceptor. Under visible-light irradiation, the resulting complexes function as exceptionally strong hydrogen-atom abstractors, with effective bond dissociation free energies exceeding 110 kcal/mol. I will also present mechanistic studies that establish their mode of action, along with representative applications in catalysis and deracemization reactions.
Event Sponsors:
For more information, please contact Annette Luymes; Aracely Sustaita by phone at x6016, x3654 or by email at [email protected]; [email protected].
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