Current Position

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Education

Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Chicago
M.S., Chemistry, University of Chicago
B. S., Chemical Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania

Research Interests

The Iluc research group focuses on the activation of inert molecules with an emphasis on the functionalization of C–H bonds in a catalytic manner. These are imperative scientific problems since less expensive and more readily available feedstocks than those currently used could be employed to meet some of the energy demands of our society. In a broad sense, the group is interested in green chemistry both in its approach (catalysis) and emphasis on using inert substrates (activation of C-H bonds). The focus is on organometallic chemistry and especially on design of metal complexes that take advantage of latent reactivity. Two major areas are targeted: (1) the synthesis of electrophilic metal centers protected by weak interactions with a supporting ligand, and (2) the characterization of systems using metal-ligand cooperation. In the first area, goals include alkane dehydrogenation, C–C coupling of olefins with ketones and nitriles, the development of E–H (E = O, S, N, P) functionalization reactions, such as anti-Markovnikov olefin hydration, hydrothiolation, hydroamination, and hydrophosphorylation. The second project will be applied to water activation and oxygen formation without photolytic activation.

Key Words

Alkene Activation, Carbon Capture and Conversion, Catalysis, CO₂ Activation, Hydrogen, Metal Complexes, Renewable Energy, Water Splitting

Relevant Energy Publications

1. Hoffbauer, Melissa R., Cezar C. Comanescu, and Vlad M. Iluc. "Reactivity of a Pd (II) carbene towards 2, 6-dimesitylphenyldiazomethane and 2, 6-dimesitylphenylazide." Polyhedron 158 (2019): 352-356.
2. Deziel, Anthony P., Melissa R. Hoffbauer, and Vlad M. Iluc. "Square Planar Nucleophilic and Radical Pt (II) Carbenes." Organometallics 38, no. 4 (2019): 879-887.
3. Cui, Peng, Melissa R. Hoffbauer, Mariya Vyushkova, and Vlad M. Iluc. "Oxidation reactions of a nucleophilic palladium carbene: mono and bi-radical carbenes." Dalton Transactions 48, no. 26 (2019): 9663-9668.
4. Comanescu, Cezar C., and Vlad M. Iluc. "EH (E= N, O) bond activation by a nucleophilic palladium carbene." Polyhedron 143 (2018): 176-183.
5. Hoffbauer, Melissa R., Cezar C. Comanescu, Brittany J. Dymm, and Vlad M. Iluc. "Influence of the Leaving Group on C–H Activation Pathways in Palladium Pincer Complexes." Organometallics 37, no. 13 (2018): 2086-2094.

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