Jake D. Soper Assistant Professor Office: MS&E 1100H Phone: 404-894-4022 Fax: 404-894-7452 E-mail Jake Soper

B.S., Western Washington University, 1998; Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003-2004

NSF CAREER Award, 2009; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award, 2009; NIH Ruth L. Kirchstein Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2003-2004; George and Agnes Irene Hoving Cady Fellowship, 2000-2001

Research Interests

Bioinorganic chemistry, multielectron redox catalysis and controlled radical reactions.

Increased worldwide energy consumption and environmental issues demand the development of new methods for energy generation from low-carbon and carbon-neutral feedstocks. Indeed, small-molecule transformations, including water oxidation or the selective functionalization of C-H bonds in homogeneous solution, have been termed "Holy Grails" in chemistry. These processes are in fact multielectron redox reactions. Our research efforts take inspiration from biological multielectron chemistry: Redox activity at metal species is coupled to redox transformations at "non-innocent" electron reservoir ligands for discovery of new classes of multielectron reactions.

Research in the Soper group spans the fields of inorganic, organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry. We are skilled in the synthesis and handling of air-sensitive materials. We use a variety of spectroscopic techniques to characterize products and intermediates and to perform detailed mechanistic studies. Our aims are largely twofold: i) Develop new methodologies to effect redox transformations important to energy conversion in chemistry and biology, and ii) Understand reaction mechanisms to guide design of new metal catalysts and ligand architectures for multielectron redox processes and radical reactions with stereo- and regio-control. Target reactions include biomimetic O2 reduction, spatial and temporal control in radical coupling for X-H bond-making and bond-breaking events, and photo-initiated two-electron metal oxidation.

 

Recent Publications

Smith, A. L.; Clapp, L. A.; Hardcastle, K. I.; Soper, J. D. "Redox-Active Ligand-Mediated Co–Cl and Co–C Bond-Forming Reactions at Reducing Square Planar Cobalt(III) Centers" Polyhedron, 2010, 29, 164-169. [2009 Young Investigator Special Issue]

Rolle III, C. J.; Hardcastle, K. I.; Soper, J. D. "Reactions of Tetrabromocatecholate Manganese(III) Complexes with Dioxygen" Inorg. Chem. 2008, 47, 1892-1894.

Soper, J. D.; Kyratov, S. V.; Rybak-Akimova, E. V.; Nocera, D. G. "Proton-Directed Redox Control of O–O Bond Activation by Heme Hydroperoxidase Models" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 5069-5075.

Liu, S.-Y.; Soper, J. D.; Yang, J. Y.; Rybak-Akimova, E. V.; Nocera, D. G. "Mechanistic Studies of Hangman Salophen Mediated Activation of O–O Bonds" Inorg. Chem. 2006, 45, 7572-7574.

Dempsey, J. L.; Esswein, A. J.; Manke, D. R.; Rosenthal, J.; Soper, J. D.; Nocera, D. G. "Molecular Chemistry of Consequence to Renewable Energy" Inorg. Chem. 2005, 44, 6879-6892.

Soper, J. D.; Saganic, E.; Weinberg, D.; Hrovat, D. A.; Benedict, J. B.; Kaminsky, W.; Mayer, J. M. "Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution on Aryl-Amido Ligands Promoted by Oxidizing Os(IV) Centers" Inorg. Chem. 2004, 43, 5804-5815. [Cover Article]

Soper, J. D.; Rhile, I. J.; DiPasquale, A. G.; Mayer, J. M. "Oxidation of TpOsIII(NH2Ph)Cl2 to TpOsIV(NHPh)Cl2 by O2" Polyhedron 2004, 23, 323-329.

Soper, J. D.; Mayer, J. M. "Slow Hydrogen Atom Self-Exchange Between Os(IV) Anilide and Os(III) Aniline Complexes: Relationships with Electron and Proton Transfer Self-Exchange" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 12217-12229.

Soper, J. D.; Kaminsky, W.; Mayer, J. M. "Activation of an Anilido Ligand for Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution by an Oxidizing Os(IV) Center" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 5594-5595.

Soper, J. D.; Bennett, B. K.; Lovell, S.; Mayer, J. M. "Protonation and Deprotonation of TpOs(NHPh)Cl2: An Unusually Inert Amido Ligand" Inorg. Chem. 2001, 40, 1888-1893.

Crevier, T. J.; Bennett, B. K.; Soper, J. D.; Bowman, J. A.; Dehestani, A.; Hrovat, D. A.; Lovell, S.; Kaminsky, W.; Mayer, J. M. "C–N Bond Formation on Addition of Aryl Carbanions to the Electrophilic Nitrido Ligand in TpOs(N)Cl2" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 1059-1071.

Arzberger, S.; Soper, J.; Anderson; O. P.; la Cour, A.; Wicholas, M. "Synthesis and Structure of an Air-Stable, Free-Radical Cobalt(III) Semiquinone Complex" Inorg. Chem. 1999, 38, 757-761.