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Staff Profiles

Prof. Les Field

 

Leslie D. Field

B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., USyd; CChem, FRACI, FAA
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) & Professor of Chemistry
Office: Room 205, The Chancellery, UNSW, Kensington 2052
Laboratories: Level 10, Applied Sciences Building
E-mail: L.Field@unsw.edu.au
Research group web site: http://www.chem.unsw.edu.au/research/groups/field/

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Ph.D. 1979 University of Sydney; D.Sc. 1991 University of Sydney; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA 1979-1981; Research Fellow, Oxford University, UK, 1981-1982; 1982-2005 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor University of Sydney; Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Sydney 1990 to 2005 and Head of the School of Chemistry from 1997 to 2001; Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Science, Chair of the University Research Committee, Deputy Chair of the Academic Board and Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at UNSW from April 2005.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Organometallic Chemistry

  • The Organometallic Chemistry of coordinated dinitrogen - nitrogen fixation. Chemical transformation of dinitrogen coordinated to metal centres. Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen reduction at metal centres. Developing reagents and catalysts (based on iron, molybdenum, tungsten and ruthenium) for converting molecular N2 into NH3 and nitrogen-containing organic compounds. Synthesising new organometallic compounds that bind and activate nitrogen. The chemistry of metal nitrynes and metal nitrenes (in collaboration with Associate Professor Barbara Messerle, School of Chemistry, UNSW).
  • C-H Bond Activation and functionalisation - the chemistry of transition metal hydrides and metal alkyls. The design and synthesis of electron-deficient organometallic compounds which are highly reactive towards "unactivated" C-H bonds in organic molecules. Application of transition metal catalysed hydrocarbon transformations to alkane conversion reactions. The activation and functionalisation of methane, ethane and lower alkanes.
  • The Organometallic Chemistry of carbon dioxide. The catalytic incorporation of CO2 into organic molecules via C-H activation and functionalisation and utilising this normally wasted (and potentially environmentally dangerous) byproduct as a valuable C1 source.
  • Transition metal catalysis in Organic Synthesis. The design of transition-metal-based reagents and catalysts for performing organic transformations. Molecular engineering in reagent design, tailoring metal complexes for specific transformations and product distributions. The development of catalysts for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Cyclisation of appropriate amino, thiol or hydroxy substituted alkynes and alkenes to pyrroles, indoles, thiophenes, furans etc (in collaboration with Associate Professor Barbara Messerle, School of Chemistry, UNSW).
  • Transition metal acetylides, Organometallic Polymers and New Materials. Dimeric, oligomeric and polymeric assemblies containing transition metal atoms covalently bonded within a conjugated an organic framework. Optical, electrochemical, electronic, spectroscopic properties of highly conjugated polymetal-acetylides. New approaches to the synthesis of metal acetylides and rearrangements and transformations of transition metal acetylides.
  • Metallocene Chemistry. The synthesis of highly hindered polyaryl-metallocenes incorporating metals which are catalytic active. Steric control of the coordination sphere of the metal centre in metallocenes.

NMR Spectroscopy

  • Multiple Quantum NMR Spectroscopy of Partially Aligned Molecules. The development of pulse sequences and new NMR methods for extracting dipolar coupling constants from the spectra of molecules aligned in liquid crystalline solution. The computer analysis of 2-dimensional multiple quantum NMR spectra to give structural information on organic and organometallic species aligned in liquid crystalline solvents.

For more details about Prof. Field's research see his research group web pages.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  • L D Field, B A Messerle, K Q Vuong and P Turner, Intramolecular Hydroamination with Rhodium(I), Iridium(I) Complexes containing a Phosphine, N-Heterocylic Carbene Ligand; Organometallics, 2005, 24, 4241-50.
  • S Burling, L D Field, B A Messerle and P Turner, Intramolecular hydroamination catalysed by cationic Rhodium and Iridium Complexes with Bidentate Nitrogen Donor Ligands; Organometallics, 2004, 23, 1714-21.
  • L D Field, H L Li, B A Messerle, R J Smernik and P Turner, An Iron(II) Dihydrogen Hydrido Complex Containing the Tripodal Tetraphosphine Ligand P(CH2CH2PMe2)3; J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Transactions, 2004, 1418 - 1423.
  • L D Field, B A Messerle, M Rehr, L P Soler and T W Hambley, Cationic Ir(I) Complexes as Catalysts for the Alcoholysis of Silanes; Organometallics, 2003, 22(12), 2387-2395.
  • S Ramadan, L D Field and G K Pierens, Multiple Quantum NMR Spectra of Partially Oriented Styrene in a Nematic Phase; Mol. Phys., 2003, 101(12), 1813-1818.
  • L D Field, B A Messerle and S L Wren, One-pot Tandem Hydroamination/Hydrosilation Catalyzed by Cationic Iridium(I) Complexes; Organometallics, 2003, 22, 4393-5.
  • L D Field, A J Turnbull and P Turner, Acetylide-bridged Organometallic Oligomers via the Photochemical Metathesis of Methyl-iron(II)Complexes; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 3692.
  • L D Field, W J Shaw and P Turner, Functionalisation of Carbon Dioxide by an Iron(II) Complex; JCS Chem. Commun., 2002, 46.