Ryan Trovitch
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Phone: 480-727-8930
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BDC-245 Biodesign C TEMPE, AZ 85287
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Mail code: 1604Campus: Tempe
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Ryan Trovitch received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the Honors Program at King's College (Wilkes-Barre, PA) in 2004, where he worked with Professor Robert L. LaDuca (now at Michigan State University) to prepare metal-organic frameworks for use as gas storage materials. After discovering air-free synthesis in Professor Mark M. Banaszak-Holl's Group (now at Monash University) during an NSF-REU appointment at the University of Michigan, he went on to receive a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Cornell University (2009) under the direction of Prof. Paul J. Chirik (now at Princeton University). His graduate work focused on the study of redox-active ligand supported iron complexes and their utility as sustainable late-transition metal catalysts. He joined Los Alamos National Laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate in 2008 and was later appointed as a Glenn T. Seaborg Postdoctoral Fellow. While at LANL, he worked with Dr. Kevin D. John (LANL), Dr. John C. Gordon (LANL), Dr. Alfred P. Sattelberger (ANL), and Prof. R. Tom Baker (University of Ottawa) to study a range of projects including nitrogen fixation, the solution reactivity of dimeric molybdenum complexes, and the spectroscopic investigation of alumina-supported iridium dehydrogenation catalysts. Professor Trovitch is an Associate Professor in ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and is working with his students to develop transition metal catalysts for energy- and sustainability-driven initiatives.
- Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry, Cornell University, 2009
- B.S. Chemistry, King's College (PA), 2004
Research in our laboratory is dedicated to the formulation of inorganic and organometallic complexes that can address the energy and sustainability challenges our society currently faces. These initiatives rely heavily on organic and inorganic synthesis, physical and spectroscopic characterization, and careful attention to mechanistic detail. Three main project themes are currently being explored:
1) The Modification of Downstream Biomass Derivatives
With ever increasing global demand for crude oil, it is essential that renewable alternatives to petrochemical feedstocks are developed. We are approaching this challenge by preparing late transition metal complexes that are capable of mediating the selective, catalytic deoxygenation of bio-based organics. Although recent reports have described the degradation of non-food source biomass into a myriad of organic products, less attention has been paid to the transformation of these “platform molecules” into chemicals that are currently synthesized from petroleum. Catalyst design in this area is directed towards the preparation of Ru, Rh, Ir, and Pt complexes that are capable of reductively cleaving C-O and C-N bonds under mild conditions. Although we desire to control the degree of substrate reduction in a stepwise fashion, the production of second generation, non-ethanol biofuels remains a secondary target.
2) The Utilization of CO2 as a Chemical Feedstock
Due to reports that link the devastating effects of global warming to the steadily rising concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, research on CO2capture and remediation has continued to garner attention throughout the scientific community. Low cost technologies that make the most of this renewable carbon-based feedstock remain the most attractive, such as its incorporation into suitable transportation fuels or fine chemicals. Our work seeks to expand the scope of CO2 utilization in large scale chemical synthesis by unveiling a molecular level understanding of the catalytic capture and incorporation of CO2 from either flue gas or the atmosphere into value-added organic products. The benefits of accomplishing this challenge remain two-fold; advances in this area could lower overall CO2 emissions and circumvent the current industrial demand for oxidative petroleum consumption. Research in this area is focused on the preparation of redox-active ligand supported rare earth and early transition metal complexes that can bind and reductively couple CO2. Methods of incorporating metal-bound CO2 into unsaturated organic substrates are also being investigated.
3) The Development of Biologically Benign Transition Metal Catalysts
The principal objective of this project is to design and study the catalytic reaction chemistry of non-toxic transition metal complexes. Our approach differs from current efforts in base metal catalysis (Mn, Fe) in that we rely on biologically derived supporting ligands instead of pyridine- or phosphine-based chelates. If complexes supported by these ligands can be used to effectively catalyze organic transformations (e.g., hydrogenation, C-C bond cross-coupling, or olefin epoxidation) it is believed that they can simply be left in pharmaceutical products during the final stages of synthesis, where precious metals are often avoided because of their inherent toxicity. The ability of common food and drug additives to serve as supporting ligands in homogeneous catalysis is also being studied.
- Sharma, A.; Trovitch, R.J. "Phosphorous-substituted redox-active ligands in base metal hydrosilylation catalysis." Dalton Transactions. 2021, 50, 15973-15977.
- Pal, R.; Kim, S.; Lee, W.; Mena, M.R.; Khurshid, A.; Ghosh, C.; Groy, T.L.; Chizmeshya, A.V.G.; Baik, M-H; Trovitch, R.J. "Reaction of a Molybdenum Bis(dinitrogen) Complex with Carbon Dioxide: A Combined Experimental and Computational Investigation." Inorganic Chemistry. 2021, 60, 11, 7708-7718.
- Oh, C.; Siewe, J.; Nguyen, T. T.; Kawamura, A.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Anderson, J. S.; Trovitch, R. J.; Baik, M.-H. “The Electronic Structure of a β-Diketiminate Manganese Hydride Dimer.” Dalton Trans. 2020, 49, 14463-14474.
- Nguyen, T. T.; Kim, J.-H.; Kim, S.; Oh, C.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Baik, M.-H.; Trovitch, R. J. “Scope and Mechanism of Nitrile Hydroboration Mediated by a β-Diketiminate Manganese Hydride Catalyst.” Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 3959-3962.
- Vartak, P. B.; Wang, Z.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J.; Wang, R. Y. “Solution and Solid-State Characterization of PbSe Precursors.” ACS Omega 2020, 5, 1949-1955.
- Ghosh, C.; Kim, S.; Mena, M. R.; Kim, J.-H.; Pal, R.; Rock, C. L.; Groy, T. L.; Baik, M.-H.; Trovitch, R. J. “Efficient Cobalt Catalyst for Ambient-Temperature Nitrile Dihydroboration, the Elucidation of a Chelate-Assisted Borylation Mechanism, and a New Synthetic Route to Amides.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 15327-15337.
- Zhang, G.; Wu, J.; Zhang, S.; Neary, M. C.; Mao, J.; Flores, M.; Trovitch, R. J.; Dub, P. A. “Redox Noninnocent Ligand-Supported Vanadium Catalysts for the Chemoselective Reduction of C=X (X = O, N) Functionalities.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 15230-15239.
- Rock, C. L.; Trovitch, R. J. “Anti-Markovnikov Terminal and gem-Olefin Hydrosilylation Using a κ4-Diimine Nickel Catalyst: Selectivity for Alkene Hydrosilylation over Ether C-O Bond Cleavage.” Dalton Trans. 2019, 48, 461-467.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. “A β-Diketiminate Manganese Catalyst for Alkene Hydrosilylation: Substrate Scope, Silicone Preparation, and Mechanistic Insight.” Chem. Sci. 2018, 9, 7673-7680.
- Rock, C. L.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. “Carbonyl and Ester C-O Bond Hydrosilylation Using κ4-Diimine Nickel Catalysts.” Dalton Trans. 2018, 47, 8807-8816.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; MacLean, N. L.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. “Isolation of Mn(I) Compounds Featuring a Reduced Bis(imino)pyridine Chelate and Their Relevance to Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production.” Inorg. Chem. 2018, 57, 6065-6075.
- Trovitch, R. J. "The Emergence of Manganese-Based Carbonyl Hydrosilylation Catalysts." Acc. Chem. Res. 2017, 50, 2842-2852.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Ghosh, C.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Hydrosilylation of Aldehydes and Formates Using a Dimeric Manganese Precatalyst." Organometallics 2017, 36, 3477-3483.
- Ben-Daat, H.; Rock, C. L.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Bowman, A. C.; Trovitch, R. J. "Hydroboration of Alkynes and Nitriles Using an α-Diimine Cobalt Hydride Catalyst." Chem. Commun. 2017, 53, 7333-7336.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Rock, C. L.; Hong, M.; Ashley, D. C.; Groy, T. L.; Baik, M.-H.; Trovitch, R. J. "Mechanistic Investigation of Bis(imino)pyridine Manganese Catalyzed Carbonyl and Carboxylate Hydrosilylation." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 4901-4915.
- Pal, R.; Laureanti, J. A.; Groy, T. L.; Jones, A. K.; Trovitch, R. J. "Hydrogen Production from Water using a Bis(imino)pyridine Molybdenum Electrocatalyst." Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 11555-11558.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Groy, T. L.; Smythe, N. C.; Gordon, J. C.; Trovitch, R. J. "Reactivity of (Triphos)FeBr2(CO) towards Sodium Borohydrides." J. Coord. Chem. 2016, 69, 2083-2046.
- Pal, R.; Cherry, B. R.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Isolation of a Bis(imino)pyridine Molybdenum(I) Iodide Complex through Controlled Reduction and Interconversion of its Reaction Products." Dalton Trans. 2016, 45, 10024-10033.
- Ghosh, C.; Groy, T. L.; Bowman, A. C.; Trovitch, R. J. "Two-step C-H, C-P Bond Activation at an α-Diimine Iron Dinitrogen Complex." Chem. Commun. 2016, 52, 4553-4556.
- Ghosh, C.; Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "A Pentacoordinate Mn(II) Precatalyst that Exhibits Notable Aldehyde and Ketone Hydrosilylation Turnover Frequencies." Inorg. Chem. 2015, 54, 10398-10406.
- Pal, R.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol Using a C-H Activated Bis(imino)pyridine Molybdenum Hydroboration Catalyst." Inorg. Chem. 2015, 54, 7506-7515.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; MacLean, N. L.; Gan, L.; Ashley, D. C.; Groy, T. L.; Baik, M.-H.; Jones, A. K.; Trovitch, R. J. "Carbon Dioxide Promoted H+ Reduction using a Bis(imino)pyridine Manganese Electrocatalyst." Inorg. Chem. 2015, 54, 10398-10406.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Flores, M.; Feller, R. K.; Scott, B. L.; Taylor, R. D.; Paz-Pasternak, M.; Henson, N. J.; Rein, F. N.; Smythe, N. C.; Trovitch, R. J.; Gordon, J. C. "A New Spin on Cyclooctatetraene (COT) Redox Activity: Low-Spin Iron(I) Complexes That Exhibit Antiferromagnetic Coupling to a Singly Reduced η4-COT Ligand." Organometallics 2014, 33, 7101-7112.
- Pal, R.; Groy, T. L.; Bowman, A. C.; Trovitch, R. J. "Preparation and Hydrosilylation Activity of a Molybdenum Carbonyl Complex That Features a Pentadentate Bis(imino)pyridine Ligand." Inorg. Chem. 2014, 53, 9357-9365.
- Trovitch, R. J. "Comparing Well-Defined Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel Ketone Hydrosilylation Catalysts." Synlett 2014, 25, 1638-1642.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "A Highly Active Manganese Precatalyst for the Hydrosilylation of Ketones and Esters." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 882-885.
- Porter, T. M.; Hall, G. B.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Importance of Co-Donor Field Strength in the Preparation of Tetradentate α-Diimine Nickel Hydrosilylation Catalysts." Dalton Trans. 2013, 42, 14689-14692.
- Ben-Daat, H.; Hall, G. B.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Rational Design of Rhodium Complexes Featuring κ4-N,N,N,N- and κ5-N,N,N,P,P-Bis(imino)pyridine Ligands." Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2013, 4430-4442.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Feller, R. K.; Rein, F. N.; Henson, N. J.; Smythe, N. C.; Trovitch, R. J.; Gordon, J. C. "Investigation of Formally Zerovalent Triphos Iron Complexes." Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 8670-8672.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "A β-Diketiminate Manganese Catalyst for Alkene Hydrosilylation: Substrate Scope, Silicone Preparation, and Mechanistic Insight." Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 7673-7680.
- Rock, C. L.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Carbonyl and Ester C-O Bond Hydrosilylation Using κ4-Diimine Nickel Catalysts." Dalton Trans. 2018, 47, 8807-8816.
- Mukhopadhyay, T. K.; MacLean, N. L.; Flores, M.; Groy, T. L.; Trovitch, R. J. "Isolation of Mn(I) Compounds Featuring a Reduced Bis(imino)pyridine Chelate and Their Relevance to Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production." Inorg. Chem., 2018, 57, 6065-6075.
- Trovitch, R. J. "SusChEM: Development of Manganese Hydrosilylation Catalysts for Silicone Curing." National Science Foundation - Faculty Early Career Development Program (6/01/17 - 5/31/22).
- Trovitch, R. J. "Mechanism and Scope of Bis(imino)pyridine Manganese-Catalyzed Hydrosilylation." American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund (9/1/2015 - 8/31/2018).
- Trovitch, R. J. "Targeting a New Product for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction: Formaldehyde." Research Corporation for Science Advancement (1/1/2014 - 12/31/2015).
- Trovitch, R. J. "Developing a Mild Catalytic Route for the Reduction of N2 to NH3." Los Alamos National Laboratory, Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program - Exploratory Research (3/11/2013 - 9/30/2013).
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
CHM 597 | Capstone |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
BCH 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BCH 493 | Honors Thesis |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
CHM 493 | Honors Thesis |
BCH 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
CHM 501 | Current Topics in Chemistry |
CHM 392 | Intro to Research Techniques |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 494 | Special Topics |
CHM 598 | Special Topics |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 598 | Special Topics |
CHM 494 | Special Topics |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 598 | Special Topics |
CHM 494 | Special Topics |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
CHM 452 | Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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CHM 598 | Special Topics |
CHM 494 | Special Topics |
- Trovitch, R. J. “Pentadentate Ligands for Manganese- and Molybdenum-Based Catalysis.” North Carolina State University, Department of Chemistry Inorganic Seminar, Raleigh, NC (Sept. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Donor-Functionalized Bis(imino)pyridine Ligands for Manganese- and Molybdenum-Based Catalysis.” University of Missouri – Columbia, Department of Chemistry Colloquium, Columbia, MO (Sept. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Donor-Functionalized Schiff Base Ligands in Homogeneous Catalysis.” Iowa State University, Department of Chemistry Seminar Series, Ames, IA (Sept. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Phosphine-Functionalized Redox Non-Innocent Ligands for Homogeneous Manganese and Molybdenum Catalysis.” University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Chemistry Seminar Program, San Antonio, TX (Sept. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Preparation and Reactivity of Phosphine-Substituted Bis(imino)pyridine and Diimine Molybdenum Compounds.” Organometallic Chemistry Gordon Research Conference, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI. (July 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Donor-Functionalized Redox Non-Innocent Ligands in Homogeneous Catalysis.” Southern Methodist University, Department of Chemistry Seminar Series, Dallas, TX. (Mar. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Phosphine-Functionalized Redox Non-Innocent Ligands in Homogeneous Catalysis.” Brown University, Chemistry Colloquium, Providence, RI. (Feb. 2017).
- Trovitch, R. J. “Mechanism of Bis(imino)pyridine Manganese-Catalyzed Carbonyl Hydrosilylation.” Harry Gray Award for Creative Work in Inorganic Chemistry by a Young Investigator: Symposium in Honor of Eric J. Schelter, 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, San Diego, CA. (Mar. 2016).
- Trovitch, R. J. “The Development and Application of Manganese Hydrosilylation Catalysts.” 46th Silicon Symposium, Davis, CA (June 2015).
- Trovitch, R. J. “A Bis(imino)pyridine Manganese Electrocatalyst for Carbon Dioxide Reduction.” 5th Annual Scialog Conference on Solar Energy Conversion, Tucson, AZ (Oct. 2014).
- Trovitch, R. J. “The Application of Redox-Active Ligands in Homogeneous Catalysis,” Russian American Workshop – Design of Advanced Functional Materials: Education, Research & Innovations in Engineering, Kazan, Russia (Oct. 2013).
- Top 5% of Highly Cited Authors in Royal Society of Chemistry Journals (2019)
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2017)
- Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2015)
- LANL Los Alamos Award (2010, 2009)
- Susquehanna Valley Regional American Chemical Society Award (2004)
American Chemical Society, Inorganic Division
Current Graduate Students:
- Matthew Mena
- Thu Thao Nguyen
- Anuja Sharma
Former Graduate Students:
- A K M Fazlul Karim Rasel
- Brian M. Glazier
- Christopher L. Rock
- Chandrani Ghosh
- Sthitadhi Maiti
- Raja Pal
- Tufan K. Mukhopadhyay
- Hagit Ben-Daat Levin
Chemical and Environmental Characterization Core Governance Board (Aug. 2019 – present)
Green Chemistry Commitment Advisory Board (Dec. 2014 – Present)