{"id":32,"date":"2018-05-23T19:26:54","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T19:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpdev.acsu.buffalo.edu\/dclubchem\/?page_id=32"},"modified":"2026-08-07T19:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T19:49:38","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ubwp.buffalo.edu\/lacylab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inorganic & Organometallic Synthetic Chemistry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We study the chemistry of first-row transition metal compounds<\/em><\/p>\n

At the University at Buffalo, the Lacy group explores inorganic and organometallic chemistry as a means of building matter with atomic precision. While the construction of everyday objects follows long-understood rules, the assembly of matter at the molecular level\u2014atom by atom\u2014is governed by principles still being uncovered within the chemical sciences. Our group approaches this science using the tools of first-row transition-metal coordination chemistry. By following the logic of synthesis<\/a>, we identify gaps in chemical knowledge and use experiment to bridge them. Our ongoing story of discovery centers on manganese(III) halide<\/a> and pseudohalide complexes<\/a>, a new class of compounds whose capacity for high-potential redox chemistry has deepened our understanding of Mn’s role in life and planetary chemistry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why manganese? <\/strong>Our expertise centers on iron, manganese, and titanium\u2014the three most abundant transition metals, and in the case of Fe and Mn, central to life on Earth. Manganese is our current focus because of two questions our discoveries may help answer. One concerns the evolution of photosynthesis: what is the molecular nature of the Mn(II) oxidation that led to the water-oxidizing cluster in photosystem II? The other concerns the degradation of recalcitrant organic matter: what is the molecular basis of this process, and does it have synthetic utility? A single hypothesis underlies both. Mn(III)’s high one-electron reduction potential is the key property\u2014one that has literally shaped the planet’s chemistry<\/a>. Yet this property has proven very difficult to replicate in synthetic molecular species, and without access to the appropriate forms, generations of chemists have relied on a narrow subset of low-potential manganese compounds.<\/p>\n

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What we found: <\/strong>This study began with a seed of curiosity: if CrCl3<\/sub> and FeCl3<\/sub> are stable compounds, where is MnCl3<\/sub>? Pondering such esoteric questions is what we do, and not without results! By developing stable manganese(III) tri-halide and tri-pseudohalide complexes for the first time, we uncovered a new class of compounds that captures manganese’s extraordinary natural oxidizing power and reactivity never before observed.<\/p>\n

\"Manganese(III)
\nA bench-stable Mn(III) trihalide complex.<\/em><\/p>\n