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Best Group

610-399 Research Project Topics Research Interests Fe-S Clusters Nitrogenase Hydrogenase Ni-CO Clusters Techniques Spectroelectrochemistry (IR, UV-Vis) EXAFS Group Members Dr. Stephen Best Kylie Vincent Stacey Borg Mark Bondin Lab photos Collaborations		The change in reactivity of transition metal complexes accompanying a change in redox state is a key distinguishing characteristic of the d-block elements. It is this characteristic that is pivotal to their remarkable ability to act as catalysts for an extraordinary range of reactions and explains the high incidence of transition metal compounds / clusters at the active sites of many enzymes.
	In the broadest sense our work is driven by a desire to better understand the interplay between structural and electronic interactions that leads to the changes in structure, reactions and reactivity of metal complexes with a change in redox state. In some cases we take our inspiration from the metal complexes revealed by structural characterisation of metalloproteins but in others our interests are concerned with abiological systems. We believe that it is fundamental research of this sort that will underpin the identification and design of even better transition-metal catalysts in the future. An important strategy that we have pursued in recent years has been to develop techniques that permit spectroscopic examination of reactive electrogenerated species particularly using techniques such as infrared or UV-visible spectroscopy, an area of research known as spectroelectrochemistry (SEC). Since our interests include the activation of gaseous species such as H₂, CO, CO₂, C₂H₂ etc. it has been necessary to develop techniques that permit our SEC experiments to be carried out at moderate pressures. In this way we can control the concentration of those species in our experiments and study their coordination chemistry with metal complexes and clusters over a range of redox states. It is the combination of chemistry, spectroscopy and technique development that makes our research distinctive.

	Best Group at ACOVS4, Brisbane: (from left) Mark Bondin, Stephen Best, Kylie Vincent, Stacey Borg.