Research in the Inorganic Chemistry division is very diverse and includes broad subtopics including photochemistry, synthetic main-group chemistry, classic coordination chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, theoretical calculations, and chemical education. Techniques such as resonance Raman, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, FTIR, UV-visible/near-IR absorption, X-ray crystallography, X-ray absorption, magnetics, natural and magnetically induced circular dichroism, and electrochemistry are used to understand the structure and reactivity of metal complexes and metalloprotein sites. The Inorganic Division is also home to the Center for Metalloenzyme Studies, a centralized collaboration of UGA scientists interested in the role that metal ions play in key biological processes.

Personnel


Michael Duncan
Regents Professor

Our research program uses lasers, electrical discharges and pulsed supersonic molecular beams to produce a variety of unusual molecules, ions, metal complexes and atomic or molecular clusters.  The extreme conditions of the "synthesis" processes employed make it possible to produce strange molecular aggregates including metal atom nanoclusters…


Todd Harrop
Associate Professor

The research in the Harrop group focuses on aspects in the area of bioinorganic chemistry. These interests include the rational design and synthesis of structural and functional models of metalloenzyme active sites involved in small molecule activation, especially the superoxide detoxifying enzymes like superoxide reductase (SOR, a non-heme…


Michael Johnson
Regents Professor

Our research concerns the role and assembly of transition metal centers in metalloenzymes and metalloproteins. Metal centers constitute the active sites of at least one third of all enzymes and determining the assembly mechanism of metallocenters and the electronic and structural properties of metal centers that confer selective and specific…


Charles Kutal
Professor

A primary objective in our research is the characterization of photochemical and photophysical processes available to transition metal complexes following excitation to an electronic excited state. In a very real sense, this excited state is a distinct chemical species whose energy, structure, and reactivity can differ appreciably from the…


Gregory H. Robinson
UGA Foundation Professor

Organometallic Chemistry constitutes a branch of Chemistry that draws from traditional Inorganic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. Consequently, this branch of Chemistry can address and solve particularly unique problems ranging from catalytic industrial production issues to the synthesis and fabrication of compounds and materials relevant to…


Tina Salguero
Associate Professor

Research in the Salguero group focuses on hybrid materials that incorporate nanosheet components. Nanosheets are characterized as well-defined nanomaterials that are one to several monolayers thick and tens of micrometers in lateral dimensions. Examples of nanosheets include graphene, graphite oxide, metal chalcogenides (MoS2, NbSe2)…


Jin Xie
Associate Professor

Our research focuses on the development and evaluation of metal-, polymer- or protein-based nanoparticles for imaging and therapy. The idea is to conceptualize the nanoparticles not as merely tiny aggregates of molecules but rather as platforms with large surface-to-volume ratios. By harnessing the well-developed surface chemistry, one can load…