Faculty Profiles

Ross A. Widenhoefer
Ross A. Widenhoefer
Professor of Chemistry
Office: 
124 Science Drive, 2101 French Science Center, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: 
(919) 660-1533
Fax: 
(919) 660-1605
ross.widenhoefer@duke.edu
Widenhoefer Research Group
Research Interests: 

Research in the Widenhoefer group is directed toward the development and mechanistic analysis of new organotransition metal-catalyzed transformations for application in the synthesis of functionalized organic molecules. In particular, our group has a long-standing interest in the functionalization of C–C multiple bonds with carbon and heteroatom nucleophiles catalyzed by electrophilic late transition metal complexes, with a recent focus on the synthetic and mechanistic aspect of gold(I) pi-activation catalysis. Current areas of inquiry include the following: 1) Gold(I) and Pt(II)-catalyzed hydroamination of alkenes an allenes. 2) Gold(I)-catalyzed dehydrative amination of underivatized allylic alcohols. 3) Synthesis and study of cationic, two-coordinate gold pi-complexes. 4) Evaluating the role of bis(gold) complexes in gold pi-activation catalysis. More detailed descriptions of these research projects can be found at our group web page.

Overview

Education:

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison 1994

B.A., Gustavus Adolphus College 1989

Research Areas:
Synthesis, Inorganic, Organic

Liu, Cong, and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular enantioselective hydroarylation of allenes with indoles.” Organic Letters, vol. 9, no. 10, May 2007, pp. 1935–38. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ol070483c. Full Text

Zhang, Z., and R. A. Widenhoefer. “Gold(I)-Catalyzed Intramolecular Asymmetric Hydroalkoxylation of Allenes.” Angew. Chem., no. 119, 2007, pp. 287–89.

Zhang, Zhibin, and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular enantioselective hydroalkoxylation of allenes.” Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English), vol. 46, no. 1–2, Jan. 2007, pp. 283–85. Epmc, doi:10.1002/anie.200603260. Full Text

Bender, Christopher F., and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Room temperature hydroamination of N-alkenyl ureas catalyzed by a gold(i) N-heterocyclic carbene complex.” Organic Letters, vol. 8, no. 23, Nov. 2006, pp. 5303–05. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ol062107i. Full Text

Widenhoefer, R. A., and X. Han. “Gold-catalyzed hydroamination of C-C multiple bonds.” European Journal of Organic Chemistry, no. 20, Oct. 2006, pp. 4555–63. Scopus, doi:10.1002/ejoc.200600399. Full Text

Bender, Christopher F., and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes with carboxamides.” Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England), no. 39, Oct. 2006, pp. 4143–44. Epmc, doi:10.1039/b608638a. Full Text

Zhang, Zhibin, et al. “Platinum(II)-catalyzed intermolecular hydroarylation of unactivated alkenes with indoles.” Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England), no. 35, Sept. 2006, pp. 3717–19. Epmc, doi:10.1039/b607286k. Full Text

Han, Xiaoqing, and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Platinum-catalyzed intramolecular asymmetric hydroarylation of unactivated alkenes with indoles.” Organic Letters, vol. 8, no. 17, Aug. 2006, pp. 3801–04. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ol061441b. Full Text

Zhang, Zhibin, et al. “Highly active Au(I) catalyst for the intramolecular exo-hydrofunctionalization of allenes with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 128, no. 28, July 2006, pp. 9066–73. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ja062045r. Full Text

Kinder, Robert E., and Ross A. Widenhoefer. “Rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization/hydroboration of 1,6-enynes.” Organic Letters, vol. 8, no. 10, May 2006, pp. 1967–69. Epmc, doi:10.1021/ol052986t. Full Text

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