Gino Lavoie

Research Interests

Inorganic Chemistry, Polymers, Organometallics, Catalysis

More than 90 per cent of the chemicals produced today require the use of catalysts. Continual development of transition metal complexes and study of their reactivity is thus essential to further decrease the energy requirements of large-scale production of chemicals, to improve yield and selectivity of reactions, and to allow for the preparation of new compounds and materials with tailored properties. This research group investigates the use of transition metal complexes with novel ligand architectures in conventional solvents and in greener alternatives (1) for the activation and transformation of inert molecules, such as dinitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane, and (2) for the preparation of new materials by the controlled addition polymerization of functional group containing olefins. Reaction mechanisms are elucidated by a series of tools including in situ spectroscopy and isotopic labelling.

Sub-Discipline

UN Goals