Professor Barbara Messerle

ABOUT ME

Biography

Barbara Messerle gained her Ph.D. from the University of Sydney in 1987. This was followed by positions as: 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. Barbara joined UNSW as an ARC Senior Research Fellow, 1999-2002, then advanced to Senior Lecturer 2002-2003, Associate Professor 2004-2007, Professor in 2008, and had become the Head of School of Chemistry in 2007. Barbara is a Visiting Professor at UNSW currently.

Education

• BSc, Ph.D. Sydney

RESEARCH

My Research Goals

• Organometallics and Catalysis
• Catalysing the synthesis of Heterocycles and Amines
• Novel Organometallic Complexes
• New Approaches to Catalysed Multistep processes
• Multimetallic Catalysts
• NMR Spectroscopy for Structure and Mechanism in Organometallic chemistry

My Research in Detail

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

Organometallics and Catalysis

Enhancing the economic viability and energy efficiency of chemical transformations is of fundamental importance in the chemicals industry today. Organometallic catalysts are an important means of providing new and highly efficient routes for chemical processes, and the development of new transition metal catalysts for promoting the synthesis of key compounds is a major goal in the development of synthetic routes with minimum energy use. Our research program has made contributions to the design of new metal complexes for promoting key chemical reactions, and to the development of new methodologies for catalysed synthetic routes including the fundamentally important C-X bond forming reactions and multistep reactions. The work has provided new insights into highly accessible and efficient metal catalysts, including multimetallic systems. The work will ultimately improve the viability of the synthesis of important biologically active molecules and pharmaceuticals in the fine chemicals industry. In promoting the development of advanced NMR techniques in organometallic chemistry, our research has led to wider insights into catalyst structure and function.

Catalysing the synthesis of Heterocycles and Amines

• the formation of C-X bonds in heterocycles (X=N,O,S) via hydramination, hydroalkoxylation and hydrothiolation
• the synthesis of amines via the hydrosilation and hydrogenation of imines 

Novel Organometallic Complexes

• Rh, Ir, Ru, and Fe complexes with mixed donor ligands (N donors, N-heterocyclic carbenes, phosphines)
• immobilization of transition metal catalysts on carbon surfaces via robust C-C bonds 

New Approaches to Catalysed Multistep processes

• Two Step Dihydroalkoxylation
• Tandem C−N and C−C bond formation
• Tandem Hydroamination/Hydrosilation 

Multimetallic Catalysts

• Mixtures of catalysts for enhancing two step reactions
• Bimetallic complexes with pairs of complexes held together on structurally constrained organic scaffolds

NMR Spectroscopy for Structure and Mechanism in Organometallic chemistry

• Para-Hydrogen NMR for Signal Enhancement
• NMR methods for structure analysis and determining mechanism in organometallic reaction pathways

Supervision Opportunities/Areas

Please contact Barbara directly to find out more about any PhD opportunities.

Advice for prospective students

The School of Chemistry has all the things you'd expect like state-of-the-art facilities and passionate, award-winning staff to help you. You might be straight out of high school, starting your PhD with us or a teacher keen to bring students to visit our labs, wherever you're at, be sure that you have a home here at the School of Chemistry

TEACHING & OUTREACH

Professional affiliations and service positions

• Head of School, School of Chemistry, 2007-Current.
• Member of the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) panel, 2012.
• Chair of National NMR Steering committee (ANZMAGnet) for developing a National NMR Facility.
• Chair, University Committee on Management of Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods.