Examining unconventional intramolecular interactions

The objective of this project is to examine the physical basis of under-appreciated molecular interactions that occur within molecules, particularly those that may involve orbital mixing.

Aims:
-To examine whether heterocycles can accept electron density to form bonds with partial covalency (orbital mixing) from neighbouring electron-donor sites.
-To examine the physicochemical nature of intramolecular hydrogen bonds.
-To examine whether the unusual interactions identified in the above investigations can be exploited to tune chemical reactivity, or within catalysis.

The above aims are being examined using a combination of synthetic and computational chemistry. Quantitative measurements will be made using NMR spectroscopy and compared with theoretical calculations via structure activity relationships.