James Blakemore
- Associate Professor
- Chemistry
Contact Info
Lawrence
1567 Irving Hill Road
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Research —
Our research program aims to address fundamental challenges in the efficient and sustainable production of energy, fuels, and chemicals. We target synthesis and study of new molecules that provide rational control of bonding and reactivity, including molecular electrocatalysts capable of storing energy in chemical bonds. We also prepare and study electrodes featuring immobilized redox-active molecules and catalysts. Our work includes studies of both transition metals, and f-block elements.
Active projects in the group generally involve synthesis, characterization, and reactivity studies of new inorganic and organometallic complexes. Our work spans from fundamental development of custom-tailored ligands to more applied electrochemical studies of molecular catalysts and redox-active compounds. To accomplish this work, students in the Blakemore group are trained in air- and moisture-free synthetic methods, spectroscopy (e.g., NMR, EPR), electrochemistry, catalyst characterization, and surface characterization (e.g., IR, XPS).
Research interests:
- Inorganic Organometallic Energy Synthesis Catalysis Materials
Selected Publications —
Henke, W.C., Stiel, J.P., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Evidence for Charge Delocalization in Diazafluorene Ligands Supporting Low-Valent [Cp*Rh] Complexes, Chem. – Eur. J. 2022, in press, doi: 10.1002/chem.202103970
Comadoll, C.G., Henke, W.C., Hopkins Leseberg, J.A., Douglas, J.T., Oliver, A.G., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Examining the Modular Synthesis of [Cp*Rh] Monohydrides Supported by Chelating Diphosphine Ligands, Organometallics 2021, 40, 3808–3818, doi: 10.1021/acs.organomet.1c00525
Kumar, A., Barr, J.L., Cruz, C.A., and Blakemore, J.D.,* Heterobimetallic [Ti,Al] Complexes: Divergent Synthesis, Redox Properties, and Ethylene Polymerization Catalysis, Organometallics 2021, 40, 2139-2148, doi: 10.1021/acs.organomet.1c00282
Kelsey, S.R., Kumar, A., Oliver, A.G., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Promotion and Tuning of the Electrochemical Reduction of Hetero- and Homobimetallic Zinc Complexes, ChemElectroChem 2021, 8, 2792-2802, doi: 10.1002/celc.202100358
Hopkins Leseberg, J.A., Lionetti, D., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Electrochemical Kinetic Study of [Cp*Rh] Complexes Supported by Bis(2-pyridyl)methane Ligands, Organometallics 2021, 40, 266-277, doi: 10.1021/acs.organomet.0c00747
Kumar, A. and Blakemore, J.D.* On the Use of Aqueous Metal-Aqua pKa Values as a Descriptor of Lewis Acidity, Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 1107-1115 doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c03239
Sconyers, D.J., Shaughnessy, C.I., Lee, H.-J., Subramaniam, B.,* Leonard, K.C.,* and Blakemore, J.D.* Enhancing Molecular Electrocatalysis of CO2 Reduction with Pressure-Tunable CO2-Expanded Electrolytes ChemSusChem 2020, 13, 6338-6345, doi: 10.1002/cssc.202000390
Kumar, A., Lionetti, D., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.*Redox-Inactive Metal Cations Modulate the Reduction Potential of the Uranyl Ion in Macrocyclic Complexes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 3032-3041, doi: 10.1021/jacs.9b11903
Awards & Honors —
K. Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
2021
DOE Early Career Award
2018
NSF EPSCoR Research Fellowship
2018
Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship, Caltech Resnick Sustainability Institute
2014-2015
Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSF CCI Solar Fuels
2012-2014
Richard Wolfgang Prize, Yale University
2012
Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students
2010