Research Overview

Research in the Kennedy group is directed toward the development of sustainable chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective catalytic methods for the valorization of chemical feedstock (ranging from petrochemicals to biomass to anthropogenic waste) to produce useful building blocks and materials for applications in chemical synthesis (e.g. therapeutics, flavors and fragrances, agrochemicals, materials etc.) Strategies to achieve these goals draw from the complementary strengths of organometallic chemistry and organocatalysis. Particular emphasis is placed on (i) rational manipulation of attractive secondary coordination sphere interactions to achieve precise control over competing reaction pathways and (ii) reversible application of external stimuli to govern reactivity and selectivity. This work relies heavily on catalyst design driven by insights gleaned from mechanistic elucidation. These pursuits lie at the interface of synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry, and they draw from state-of-the-art experimental and computational techniques in physical organic and inorganic chemistry. Students will gain experience and expertise in organic and organometallic synthesis and characterization, method development, and mechanistic study.

Research Interests

• Catalysis and Synthetic Methods
• Organometallic Chemistry
• Mechanistic and Physical Organic Chemistry

Selected Publications

• Afandiyeva, M.;‡ Kadam, A. A.;‡ Wu, Xijue;‡ Brennessel, W. W.; Kennedy, C. R.* Synthesis, Structure, and Hydroboration Reactivity of Anionic Nickel(0) Complexes Supported by Bidentate NHC-Pyridone Ligands. Organometallics, 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.2c00439 (Selected as ACS Editors’ Choice.)
• Beromi, M. M.; Kennedy, C. R. ; Younker, J. M.; Carpenter, A. E.; Mattler, S. J.; Throckmorton, J. A.; Chirik, P. J.* Iron Catalyzed Synthesis and Chemical Recycling of Telechelic, 1,3-Enchained Oligocyclobutanes. Nature Chem. 2021, 13, 156–162. DOI: 10.1038/s41557-020-00614-w
• Kennedy, C. R.;‡ Joannou, M. V.;‡ Steves, J. E.; Hoyt, J. M.; Kovel, C. B.; Chirik, P. J.* Iron-Catalyzed Vinylsilane Dimerization and Cross-Cycloadditions with 1,3-Dienes: Probing the Origins of Chemo- and Regioselectivity. ACS Catal. 2021, 11, 1368–1379. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c04608
• Kennedy, C. R.; Zhang, H.; Macaulay, R. L.; Chirik, P. J.* Regio- and Diastereoselective Iron-Catalyzed [4+4]-Cycloaddition of 1,3-Dienes. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 8557–8573. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b02443
• Kennedy, C. R.‡; Lehnherr, D.‡; Rajapaksa, N. S.; Ford, D. D.; Park, Y.; Jacobsen, E. N.* Mechanism-Guided Development of a Highly Active Bis-thiourea Catalyst for Anion-Abstraction Catalysis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 13525–13528. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b09205
• Kennedy, C. R.; Guidera, J. A.§; Jacobsen, E. N.* Synergistic Ion-Binding Catalysis Demonstrated via an Enantioselective, Catalytic [2,3]-Wittig Rearrangement. ACS Cent. Sci. 2016, 2, 416–423. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.6b00125

(‡ Equal contributions. § Undergraduate coauthor.)