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Staff Profiles

Barbara Messerle

 

Barbara Messerle

Ph.D. University of Sydney, 1987
Professor and Head of School
E-mail: B.Messerle@unsw.edu.au
Research group web site: http://www.chem.unsw.edu.au/research/groups/messerle/

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Ph.D. University of Sydney 1987. Postdoctoral Fellow ETH Zürich, Switzerland 1987-1989, Gritton Research Fellow, University of Sydney 1990-1991; ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellow 1992-1997, and ARC Senior Research Fellow 1997-1998, at the University of Sydney. ARC Senior Research Fellow 1999-2002, Senior Lecturer 2002-2003, Associate Professor 2004-2007, Professor 2008- at UNSW.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Organic Synthesis using Organometallic Complexes:

  • The design and synthesis of organometallic complexes which are catalysts for bringing about the formation of highly functionalised organic compounds
  • Target processes include the formation of C-X bonds (X=N,S,O, H), and target organic products include (a) pyrroles and indoles (b) furans, ethers and lactones, (c) functionalised hydrosilanes.
  • New approaches to catalysed synthesis of organic substrate.

NMR Spectroscopy of Organometallic Complexes:

  • NMR studies of novel organometallic complexes for structure and dynamics
  • Parahydrogen in reactive organometallic complexes (with Dr S.B. Duckett, York University, UK).
  • NMR and modelling studies of Pt(II) based anti-cancer drugs (with Dr T. Hambley, School of Chemistry, Sydney University)

Full details of these research projects are available at the Messerle Research Group web pages.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

(Full list of publications is available here)

  • Barbara A. Messerle,* Khuong Q. Vuong, "Rhodium and Iridium Catalysed Double Hydroalkoxylation of Alkynes, an Efficient Method for the Synthesis of O,O-acetals: Catalytic and Mechanistic Studies", Organometallics, 26, 3031-3040, 2007
  • Leslie D. Field, Barbara A. Messerle,* Khuong Q. Vuong, Peter Turner and Tim Failes,"Rhodium(I) and Iridium(I) Complexes with Bidentate Phosphine-Pyrazolyl Ligands: Highly Efficient Catalysts for the Hydroamination Reaction", Organometallics, 26,2058-2069, 2007
  • Joanne Hui Hui Ho, David St Claire Black, Barbara A. Messerle,* Jack Clegg and Peter Turner "Reactive Indolyl Complexes of Group 9 Metals", Organometallics, 24, 5800-5810, 2006
  • L. D. Field, B. A. Messerle,* K. Q. Vuong, and P. Turner, "Intramolecular Hydroamination with Rhodium(I), Iridium(I) Complexes containing a Phosphine, N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands", Organometallics, 24, 4241-4250, 2005
  • 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, 23, 1714-1721, 2004
  • L.D. Field, B.A. Messerle,* L.P. Soler, M. Rehr, and T.W. Hambley, "Cationic Ir(I) Complexes as Catalysts in the Alcoholysis of Silanes", Organometallics, 22, 2387-2395, 2003
  • L. D. Field, B. A. Messerle,* and S. L. Wren "One-Pot Tandem Hydroamination/Hydrosilation Catalyzed by Cationic Iridium(I) Complexes", Organometallics, 22,4393-4395, 2003
  • Suzanne Burling, Leslie D. Field and Barbara A. Messerle,* "Hydroamination of alkynes catalysed by a cationic rhodium complex", Organometallics, 19, 87-90, 2000
  • B.A. Messerle,* C.J. Sleigh, M.G. Partridge and S.B. Duckett "Structure and Dynamics in Metal Phosphine Complexes using Advanced NMR Studies with Parahydrogen Induced Polarisation", J. Chem Soc., Dalton Trans., 1429-1435, 1999
  • T.W. Hambley,* E.C. Ling and B.A. Messerle, "A Combined NMR and Molecular Mechanics Study of the Binding of Dichloro(1,4-diazacycloheptane)platinum(II) to the Dinucleotide, d(GpG)" Inorg. Chem., 1996, 35, 4663-4668 (21 citations, IF 3.9)