Our research group is multifaceted with unusually wide interests. We work in organic synthesis, inorganic synthesis, materials chemistry, organometallic chemistry, biomedical chemistry, and polymer chemistry. Presently our research is focused in each of the following seven areas.

Synthesis of new forms of carbon

Our group is involved in a study of long chain linear carbon, R(C=C)nR, a new carbon allotrope which is both the most reactive form of carbon, an electrical conductor, and shows promise of an important and diversified reaction chemistry.

Polylithium organic compounds

Polylithium organic compounds, (CnLim); are unique in contemporary organic or organometallic chemistry in that they are a totally new class of matter, an extremely rare research opportunity in the 1990s. Aside from their use as reagents, they are of special interest in structural chemistry and theoretical chemistry. There are numerous theoretical papers predicting extraordinary bonding features such as planar carbon compounds, "hypervalent" carbon, skewed (orthogonal) olefins, and extraordinary crystal structure structures. See for example our recent synthesis of hexalithiobenzene and the crystal structure of dilithiomethane (references below). Our research group has led the development of this field for the last 15 years and the most exciting era in this scientific investigation is just unfolding.

Metal alkyl synthesis

One of our major interests is the synthesis of new classes of metal alkyls, M(R)n. For example, the first transition metal trifluorosilyl compounds, M(SiF3)n have been reported. This research often involves exotic high temperature and low temperature techniques such as laser vaporization of metals. Of current interest is the synthesis and reaction chemistry of extremely reactive coordinatively unsaturated alkyls which are a new class of matter often having an electron count of only 12, 14 or 16 and thus they are one of the strongest and most reactive classes of electrophiles known.

Organic and inorganic fluorine chemistry

Over the last 20 years our research group has been the world leader in synthetic chemistry (both organic and inorganic) using elemental fluorine. We have been so successful that such technology is being scaled up widely in many well known industrial laboratories. Technologically and aesthetically important new compounds are now produced daily.

Synthetic bone materials

Our laboratory has developed a pure calcium phosphate artificial bone material which has recently been the focus of considerable national and international publicity. Cells called osteoblasts and osteoclasts take this very strong calcium phosphate bioceramic and convert it into living bone in animals and in humans over a period of time. Our synthetic bone work was awarded the ITI Straumann Award in 1991 for producing a porous bioceramic material that achieved the record for bone ingrowth for any synthetic material. We also seek a student to work on fluorocarbon biomedical materials in a parallel effort, and are initiating a program directed toward chemical synthesis of cartilage.

Fluorocarbon and inorganic polymer chemistry

Some of the newest, most exotic high temperature and high performance fluorocarbon polymers emerge from this laboratory. Fluorocarbon polymers, polymeric fluids, and membranes have numerous industrial, medical and extraterrestrial applications.

Synthesis of new sigma-bonded xenon-carbon compounds

Our group prepared the molecule with the first xenon-carbon bond in 1979. We are currently doing chemistry with this extraordinary new molecule as well as engaged in efforts to prepare other sigma-bonded xenon compounds.