Ulrich Fekl

Ulrich W. Fekl

Ph.D. | M.Sc. | Associate Professor |Chemistry | Organic and Inorganic Synthesis

Research Areas:

Fekl Research

Inorganic, Organic, and Organometallic Synthesis, Catalysis, Materials 

Research Profile:

We focus on transition metal complexes, where we are making fundamental contributions toward solving challenging problems in various areas, with applications in synthesis and materials. A theme of current interest are redox-active (‘non-innocent’) ligands, and how we can use their strange and unusual reactivity for new applications. Applications include reactions with alkenes and new cross-coupling reactions. Funded by a recent ACS-PRF (‘New Directions’) grant, we are also working on new diamondoid materials, based on adamantane and new adamantane functionalizations. We routinely work with highly air- and water-sensitive materials under high vacuum and protective atmosphere. Experimental work is complemented by quantum chemistry. We are using the SciNet supercomputer cluster for DFT computations.

Courses Taught:

CHM231H5, CHM331H5, and CHM436H5 (undergraduate); CHM1266H1 (graduate)

Publications

Recent:

Colette M. Macarios, Viki Kumar Prasad, and Ulrich Fekl “Heteroatom-vacancy centres in molecular nanodiamonds: A computational study of organic molecules possessing robust triplet ground states through -overlap” PCCP 2023, submitted

Fekl, U. “Covalent d-Block Organometallics: Teaching Lewis Structures and sd/sd2 Hybridization Gives Students Additional Explanations and Powerful Predictive Tools” J. Chem. Educ. 2021, 98, 3189-3206.

Suleiman, M., Taullaj, F. and Fekl, U. Group-IV-based selective C-H bond activation of a diamondoid— A density functional theory study” Int. J. Quantum Chem. 2021, 121, e26638.

Taullaj, F., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “Platinum(IV) Complexes of a Bulky and Exceptionally Donating
Alkyl: 2-Adamantyl” Can. J. Chem. 2020, in print.

Mirabi, B., Church Poh, W., Armstrong, D., Lough, A. J. and Fekl, U. “Why Diorganyl Zinc Lewis Acidity Dramatically Increases with Narrowing C-Zn-C Bond Angle” Inorg. Chem. 2020, 59, 2621-2625.

Taullaj, F., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “An iridium complex with an unsupported Ir—Zn bond: diiodido(η5-
pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)-bis(trimethylphosphane)-iridiumzinc(Ir—Zn) benzene hemisolvate” Acta Cryst. 2019, E75, 1824-1827.

Nguyen, N., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “A molybdenum tris(dithiolene) complex coordinates to three bound
cobalt centers in three different ways” Acta Cryst. 2019, E75, 1261-1264.

Taullaj, F., Armstrong, D., Datta, S., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “2‐Adamantyl Complexes of Platinum” Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2019, 1288-1291.

Harrison, D.J., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “A new structural model for NiFe hydrogenases: an unsaturated
analogue of a classic hydrogenase model leads to more enzyme-like Ni—Fe distance and interplanar fold” Acta Cryst. 2018, E74, 1222-1226.

Gapinska, A., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “Coordination compounds containing bis-dithiolene-chelated
molybdenum(IV) and oxalate: comparison of terminal with bridging oxalate” Acta Cryst. 2017, E73, 1202-1207.

Kraskouskaya, D., Cabral, A.D., Fong, R., Bancerz, M., Toutah, K., Rosa, D., Gardiner, J.E., de Araujo, E.D., Duodu, E., Armstrong, D., Fekl, U. and Gunning, P.T. “Characterization and application studies of ProxyPhos, a chemosensor for the detection of proximally phosphorylated peptides and proteins in aqueous solutions” Analyst 2017, 142, 2451-2459.

Moscattini, J., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “C2-isomer of [Pd(tfd)]6 [tfd is S2C2(CF3)2] as its benzene solvate: a
new member of the small but growing class of homoleptic palladium(II) monodithiolenes in the form of hexameric cubes”
Acta Cryst. 2017, E73, 957-962.

Armstrong, D., Taullaj, F., Singh, K., Mirabi, B., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “Adamantyl Metal Complexes: New Routes to Adamantyl Anions and New Transmetallations” Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 6212-6217.

Daryanavard, M., Armstrong, D., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “The First Palladium(IV) Aryldiazenido Complex: Relevance for C-C Coupling” Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 4004-4008.

Taullaj, F., Armstrong, D., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “Iridium Complexes Containing N-Donor-functionalized η1-Fluorenyl
Ligands” Polyhedron 2016, 108, 30-35.

Prack, E., O’Keefe, C.A., Moore, J.K., Lai, A., Lough, A.J., Macdonald, P.M., Conradi, M.S., Schurko, R.W. and Fekl, U.
“A Molecular Rotor Possessing an H-M-H "Spoke" on a P-M-P "Axle": A Platinum(II) trans-Dihydride Spins Rapidly Even at 75 K” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 13464-13467.

Daryanavard, M., Armstrong, D., Lough, A.J. and Fekl, U. “Extremely Facile Transformations of Tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)-borate: a Bidentate Nitrogen Ligand and a C2-Chiral Cation” Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2015, 3232-3235