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John F. Berry

Website | Awards | Publications

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
B.S. in Chemistry (and B.A. in Music Theory) - Virginia Tech
Ph.D. in Chemistry - Texas A&M University
Postdoctoral work - Max-Planck-Institut für Bioinorganische Chemie

Room: 6357
Phone: 608-262-7534
Email: berry@chem.wisc.edu
Position: Assistant Professor

Selected Publications

  • Berry, J. F. Dalton Trans. 2012, 41, 700-713.

  • Timmer, G. H.; Berry, J. F. Comptes Rendus Chimie 2012, 15, 192-201.

  • Kornecki, K. P., Berry, J. F. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2012, 562-568.

  • Manni, G. L.; Dzubak, A.; Mulla, A.; Brogden, D. W.; Berry, J. F.; Gagliardi, L., Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, 1737-1749.

  • Nippe, M.; Turov, Y.; Berry, J. F. Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 10592-10599.

  • Long, A. K. M.; Timmer, G. H.; Pap, J. S.; Snyder, J. L.; Yu, R. P.; Berry, J. F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 13138-13150.

  • Nippe, M.; Bill, E.; Berry, J. F. Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 7650-7661.

  • Kornecki, K. P.; Berry, J. F. Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17, 5827-5832.

  • Nippe, M.; Goodman, S. M.; Fry, C. G.; Berry, J. F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 2856-2859.

  • Long, A. K. M.; Yu, R. P.; Timmer, G. H.; Berry, J. F., Aryl C-H Bond Amination by an Electrophilic Diruthenium J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 12228-12230.

  • Berry, J. F., A Definitive Answer to a Bonding Quandary? The Role of One-Electron Resonance Structures in the Bonding of a {Cu3S2}3+ Core, Chem. Eur. J. 2010, 16, 2719-2724.

  • Nippe, M.; Wang, J.; Bill, E.; Hope, H.; Dalal, N. S.; Berry, J. F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 14261-14272.

Research Description


Research Interests: Coordination chemistry - synthesis, structures, spectroscopy, and electronic structure of new types of transition metal complexes; isolation and characterization of highly-reactive high-oxidation state intermediate species; redox catalysis, especially of reactions involving multiple electron transfers; metal-ligand and metal-metal multiple bonding; heterobimetallic complexes.

Some of the most important - yet difficult to control - catalytic processes are those that add heteroatoms (e.g., N, O) to unfunctionalized organic molecules. These reactions often involve the intermediacy of species having metal-oxygen or metal-nitrogen multiple bonds, which are often unobservable because they are highly reactive. The Berry group’s interest is in synthesizing and characterizing such elusive intermediate species in order to elucidate their electronic structure, and thereby the electronic effects that govern their reactivity.

For example, compounds with a linear M–M=E structure are key intermediates in rhodium-catalyzed reactions that directly functionalize unreactive C–H bonds; prior to our work no M–M=E intermediates of this type have ever been isolated. We have succeeded in the low-temperature synthesis and characterization of an unprecedented new compound that has delocalized sigma and pi bonding throughout a linear Ru–Ru≡N chain. This remarkable electron delocalization causes the Ru≡N bond to be weaker and longer than in mononuclear Ru-nitrido compounds. In fact, the bond strength of the Ru–Ru≡N species, as measured by the Ru≡N stretching frequency, appears to be intermediate between mononuclear Ru(VI)-nitrido species and nitrogen atoms bound to a bulk Ru metal surface.



Other projects in our group involve the synthesis of heterometallic complexes of geometrically constrained porphyrin ligands or tripodal ligands. These complexes are designed to facilitate multi-electron transfer reactions relevant to energy conversion. Our goals are to develop new catalytic processes for important multi-electron reactions such as CO2 reduction and various oxidations.

Heterometallic Electronic Effects

Many metalloenzymes use a heterometallic active site (MA···MB) to catalyze reactions that are essential for life. We are interested in finding out how the presence of MA affects the electronic structure of MB, and, thereby, its reactivity. When both MA and MB are first row transition metals, the effects that we want to probe are complicated by spin-spin interactions. We have therefore initiated a study of linear MA–MA···MB compounds that have a strong MA–MA metal-metal bond. This renders the MA–MA group diamagnetic, and it is therefore possible to probe the electronic structure of MB by traditional spectroscopic and magnetic measurements. For example, we have found in recent work that a neighboring CrCr bonded group has a significant impact on the redox potential of an Fe(II) ion, lowering the potential for oxidation to Fe(III). Also, we have found that the spin state of a Co(II) ion strongly depends on the nature of its heterometallic neighbor. As shown below, a CrCr···Co complex is low-spin at temperatures below ~ 100 K, but the corresponding MoMo···Co species is high-spin.

 

Last Updated: November 5, 2008

 

Awards

  • NSF CAREER Award, 2008 – 2013

  • Ernst Haage Preis des Max-Planck-Institut für Bioanorganische Chemie (First recipient), 2006

  • Alexander von Humboldt Forschungsstipendium, MPI-Mülheim, Sept. 2004 - Aug. 2006

  • Association of Former Students Graduate Assistant Award for Research, Texas A&M, 2004

  • Celanese, Ltd. Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Texas A&M 2004

  • National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, Texas A&M 2001-2004

  • Graduate Merit Fellowship, Texas A&M 2000 - 2001