Contact

Porträt PD Dr. habil. Schmidt, Moritz; FWOF

PD Dr. habil. Moritz Schmidt

Head Chemistry of the f-elements
moritz.schmidthzdr.de
Phone: +49 351 260 3156
+49 351 260 2536

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Department of Chemistry of the f-elements

We study the chemistry of the actinides and their lanthanide homologues in solid state as well as in solution. Modern analytical tools combined with quantum chemical computations, provide atomic scale information which can be used to characterize the physico-chemical properties of the actinides in molecules.

Übersicht FWOF ©Copyright: PD Dr. habil. Schmidt, Moritz

Our main focus is on the coordination chemistry of f-elements with inorganic and organic ligands, mostly biological and bio-inspired ligand systems. These studies use single-crystal X-ray diffraction to study structures in the solid state, and spectroscopic techniques, such as NMR, XANES, and TRLFS, to characterize structures in solution. All studies are complemented by quantum-theoretical calculations, which rely heavily on the in-house development of theoretical methods for 5f systems (i.e. actinides).

The fundamental understanding of actinide chemistry is applied to investigate actinide reactivity at the water/mineral interface, where atomic force microscopy, TRLFS, and surface X-ray diffraction are used as surface sensitive speciation techniques.

A full list of experimental equipment and capacities can be found here.

Our group is open for interested Bachelor's and Master's students, as well as research internships. Get in touch with us!

Latest Publication

A Co(II)-Hydroxide Complex That Converts Directly to a Co(II)-Acetamide during Catalytic Nitrile Hydration

Heim, P.; Biswas, S.; Lopez, H.; Gericke, R.; Twamley, B.; McDonald, A. R.

In exploring structural and functional mimics of nitrile hydratases, we report the synthesis of the pseudo-trigonal bipyramidal Co(II) complexes (K)[Co(II)(DMF)(LPh)] (1(DMF)), (NMe₄)₂[Co(II)(OAc)(LPh)] (1(OAc)), and (NMe₄)₂[Co(II)(OH)(LPh)] (1(OH)) (LPh = 2,2′,2’’-nitrilo-tris-(N-phenylacetamide; DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide; −OAc = acetate)). The complexes were characterized using NMR, FT-IR, ESI-MS, electronic absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography, showing the LPh ligand to bind in a tetradentate tripodal fashion alongside the respective ancillary donor. One of the complexes, 1(OH), is an unusual structural and functional mimic of the Co active site in Co nitrile hydratases. 1(OH) reacted with acetonitrile to yield the Co(II)-acetamide complex (NMe₄)₂[Co(II)(NHC(O)CH₃)(LPh)], 2, which was also thoroughly characterized. In the presence of excess hydroxide, 1(OH) was found to catalyze quantitative conversion of the added hydroxide into acetamide. Despite the differences in Co oxidation state in nitrile hydratases and 1(OH) (Co(III) versus Co(II), respectively), 1(OH) was nonetheless an effective nitrile hydration catalyst, selectively producing acetamide over multiple turnovers.

Keywords: Anions; Hydration; Ions; Ligands; Nitrogen compounds

Inorganic Chemistry 63(2024), 7896-7902
Online First (2024) DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c00754

Projects

Current

Bioinspired polyhydroxamic sequestering agents for the in vivo decorporation of actinides
(ActiDecorp, ANR/DFG, 04/2024-03/2027)
Actinide-metal-bonding at the atomic level
(Am-BALL, BMUV, 05/2023-04/2026)
Investigation of the interactions of f-elements with biologically-relevant structural motives: Determination of structure-effect principles for a mobilization in the environment
(FENABIUM-II, BMBF, 04/2023-03/2026)
Competition and Reversibility of sorption processes
(KuRSiV, BMUV, 01/2023-06/2026)
Spectroscopic characterization of f-Element complexes with soft donor ligands
(f-Char, BMBF, 10/2020 - 03/2024)

Expired

Structure effect relations between f-elements and organic ligands with natural-analogue binding modes in regards to a possible mobilization in the environment
(FENABIUM, BMBF, 10/2016 – 05/2021)
Smart-Kd applications for the long term safety assessment of nuclear waste disposal sites
(SMILE, BMWi, 09/2018 – 02/2022)

Team

Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Head
PD Dr. habil. Moritz Schmidt	801/P249	3156 2536	moritz.schmidthzdr.de
Employees
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Johannes Balas			j.balashzdr.de
Dr. Robert Gericke	801/P205	2011	r.gerickehzdr.de
Dennis Grödler	801/P205	2438	d.groedlerhzdr.de
Dr. Peter Kaden	801/P217	2261	p.kadenhzdr.de
Aliaksandra Khokh	801/P219	3194	a.khokhhzdr.de
Jessica Lessing	801/P352	3154	j.lessinghzdr.de
Adrian Näder	801/P352	3154	a.naederhzdr.de
Dr. Michael Patzschke	801/P356	2989	m.patzschkehzdr.de
Till Erik Sawallisch	801/P350	2035	t.sawallischhzdr.de
Actinid chemistry of metall organics
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Dr. Juliane März	801/P217	3209 2506	j.maerzhzdr.de
Boseok Hong	801/P205	2438	b.honghzdr.de