Dr. Charles Young's Group

BACKGROUND: Born under a metal-sulfur star, Charles constructed his first research lab at the gentle age of ten. During his teens he explored the chemistry of any element he could get his hands on - but it was the spectacularly colourful chemistry of the transition metals which caught his eye! He left his home in Deniliquin at the age of 18 to study transition metal chemistry at the Australian National University, Canberra, where he earned B.Sc.(Hons) and Ph.D. degrees. His Ph.D. work (with Dr. J. A. Broomhead) was devoted to the chemistry of Mo-S and W-S compounds. He undertook post-doctoral work at the Universities of British Columbia (Rh catalysis with Prof. B. R. James) and Arizona (Mo bioinorganic chemistry with Prof. J. H. Enemark). When he was not in the lab exploring new and colourful transition metal chemistry, he could be found hiking or climbing in the furthest reaches of North and Central America. He joined the University of Melbourne as a Lecturer in 1991 and is now a Reader and Associate Professor. A strong team of active and talented research students now maintains his focus on novel transition metal-sulfur chemistry. In 1995 he was awarded the Distinguished Young Research Medal of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies in recognition of his work in bioinorganic chemistry. He is also very active in undergraduate teaching and committee work, and participates in international projects and research collaborations. The research profiles described on this website reflect the breadth of Charles' chemical interests and the photo gallery his second favourite pastime - outdoor adventure.

Selected publications include:

1. Z. Xiao, C. G. Young, J. H. Enemark and A. G. Wedd, "A Single Model Displaying All the Important Centers and Processes Involved in Catalysis by Molybdoenzymes Containing [MoVIO2]2+ Active Sites," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 9194-9195.

2. A. A. Eagle, S. M. Harben, E. R. T. Tiekink and C. G. Young, "Tungsten Bioinorganic Chemistry: Synthesis, Structure, and Reactivity of cis-Oxothiotungsten(VI), cis-Bis(thio)tungsten(VI) and (Ene-1,2-dithiolato)tungsten(IV) Complexes," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1994, 116, 9749-9750.

3. Z. Xiao, R. W. Gable, A. G. Wedd and C. G. Young, "Complexes Containing cis-[MoVO2]+ and cis-[MoVO(OH)]2+ Centers," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 2912-2921.

4. S. Thomas, E. R. T. Tiekink and C. G. Young, "Synthesis, Structures and Reactivity of Four-Electron-Donor h2-Organonitrile, Carbonyl Oxo, and Carbonyl Thio Complexes of Tungsten,"Organometallics 1996, 15, 2428-2430.

5. Z. Xiao, M. A. Bruck, J. H. Enemark, C. G. Young and A. G. Wedd, "A Catalytic Cycle Related to Molybdenum Enzymes Containing [MoVIO2]2+ Oxidized Active Sites," Inorg. Chem. 1996, 35, 7508-7515.

6. C. J. Doonan, D. A. Slizys and C. G. Young, "New Insights Into the Berg–Holm Oxomolybdoenzyme Model," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 6430-6436.

7. P. D. Smith, D. A. Slizys, G. N. George and C. G. Young, "Towards a Total Model for the Molybdenum Hydroxylases: Synthesis, Redox and Biomimetic Chemistry of Oxo–thio– and Related Mo(VI) and Mo(V) Complexes," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 2946–2947.

8. P. D. Smith, A. J. Millar, C. G. Young, A. Ghosh and P. Basu, "Detection, Isolation and Characterization of Intermediates in Oxygen Atom Transfer Reactions in Molybdoenzyme Model Systems," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 9298–9299.

9. S. Thomas, A. A. Eagle, S. A. Sproules, J. P. Hill, J. M. White, E. R. T. Tiekink, G. N. George and C. G. Young, "Redox Interplay of Oxo–thio–tungsten Centers with Sulfur–donor Co–ligands," Inorg. Chem. 2003, 42, 5909–5916.

10. C. G. Young, "Molybdenum," in Comprehensive Coordination Chemistry II; J. A. McCleverty and T. J. Meyer, Eds. Elsevier Pergamon, Amsterdam, 2004, Vol. 4, Chap. 4.7, pp. 415–527.

For information concerning Assoc. Prof. Young, please consult the University of Melbourne School of Chemistry homepage. A complete list of Assoc. Prof. Young's publications is also available.

Email: cgyoung@chemistry.unimelb.edu.au

Associate Professor Charles Young