George F. Riegel

Research interests

As a physical organic chemist, I am interested in structure-reactivity relationships in organic molecules. My current research involves the synthesis of novel, metal-free organocatalysts for asymmetric organic reactions. The activities of established organocatalytic scaffolds can be greatly enhanced by incorporating positively-charged centers, thereby making them more attractive alternatives to less environmentally-benign, metal-based species; this represents an important step toward making industrial chemical production greener and more sustainable.

This work entails multi-step organic synthesis, quantification of Brønsted acid acidity through reaction data and NMR, IR, and UV-vis spectroscopic methods, and the use of chiral HPLC to determine enantiomeric ratios.

If you are interested in organic synthesis, organocatalysis, chemical kinetics, and mechanism elucidation, then I have research projects for you!