I will present selected examples of our efforts in the use of NMR for the analysis of the kinetics and mechanism of processes catalysed by Lewis / Bronsted acids and bases, by transition metals, and by halide ions. The examples are chosen to give an overview of our the development of methods for the study of fast processes and heterogeneous mixtures, and the application of isotopes to probe catalytic flux and kinetic isotope effects. I will briefly highlight how we can assemble and analyse irreversible reactions in a fraction of a second, with full control of temperature and homogeneity, and how we can use a periodic activation to improve signal-to-noise in isotope ratio analysis and more efficiently monitor phase-transfer catalysis.
Biography
Forbes Prof. Guy Lloyd-Jones FRS
Guy Lloyd-Jones FRS studied Chemical Technology as an undergraduate at Huddersfield, kinetics of rhodium-catalysis as a Phd student at Oxford with John Brown FRS, and chiral ligand design as a Royal Society postdoctoral fellow at Basel, with Andreas Pfaltz. He began his independent career in 1996 at Bristol, where he probed stereochemistry in catalysis using combinations of isotopic labelling and NMR. In 2013 he moved to the Forbes Chair of Chemistry at Edinburgh. His research focuses on the kinetics and mechanism of reactions for synthesis and in the development of new methods for their in situ analysis by NMR.