Rein Kirss
Degrees/Education
1986 Ph.D., Inorganic Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1982 M.A., Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo
1981 B.S. Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo
B.A. History, State University of New York at Buffalo
Area(s) of Expertise
Organometallic Chemistry
Research Interests
The research interests of the Kirss Research Group lie in the application of organometallic compounds to organic and materials synthesis. Projects are underway in three areas.
1.) Understanding the electronic and steric effects of pentadienyl, cyclohexadienyl, cycloheptadienyl and related hydrocarbon ligands on the rate and catalytic properties of ruthenium (II) compounds bearing in carbon-carbon bond forming reactions.
2) Synthesis of rhenium containing coordination compounds for use as labels in imaging and as models for potential new therapeutic technetium drugs. This project is a collaborative effort with Professor Robert Hanson.
3) A combination of NMR spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and Mossbauer spectroscopy allows the Kirss group to identify the site of oxidation, probe the degree of electron delocalization and determine the magnetic properties of heteroatom bridged polyferrocenes. Ferrocenylphosphines and poly(ferrocenyl)phosphines are oxidized at phosphorus rather than iron while ferrocenylphosphine oxides undergo reversible thermal redox processes with possible application as molecular switches.
Location
318 Hurtig Hall