Defence
Date: May 2nd, 2025 at Department of Chemistry, "Kjemibygningen".
Main research findings
Nature has perfected the art of breaking strong chemical bonds through specialized enzymes, such as those involved in methane oxidation. Inspired by these biological systems, synthetic copper-based catalysts are developed to mimic enzyme functions. This thesis explores how the electronic structure, ligand environment, and choice of oxidant influence the reactivity of biomimetic copper complexes.
Using computational chemistry, we analyze how different oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide, interact with copper catalysts and generate highly reactive species capable of breaking C–H bonds.
Our results reveal that subtle variations in catalyst design significantly impact reaction pathways, affecting both efficiency and selectivity. This research provides a deeper understanding of copper-catalyzed oxidation mechanisms, which paves the way for designing next-generation catalysts that harness the principles of nature to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly chemical processes.
Committees
Members of the evaluation committee
Professor Marcel Swart, University of Girona, Spain.
Associate Professor Aleix Comas-Vives, Technische Universität Wien, Austria. Replacement: Senior Researcher Ole Swang, SINTEF, Norway.
Professor Ute Krengel, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Members of the supervisors committee
Senior Researcher Ainara Nova Flores, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Professor Unni Olsbye, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Senior Researcher David Balcells Badia, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Chair/leader of the defence.
Professor Harald Walderhaug, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
Funding
European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 856446 (CUBE)) .
Candidate contact information
Mail: ning.cao@smn.uio.no. Phone: +47 968 11 899.