Research Themes and Project Description

We are actively looking for TCNJ undergraduates to join the lab. Please contact Dr. O at oconnora@tcnj.edu to request more information.

Follow us on X @oconnorlabtcnj use the hashtag #tcnjgreenchem

Research in the O’Connor lab focuses on the development of more sustainable approaches to the production of chemicals. Companies and academic institutions are increasingly focused on developing more benign and greener catalytic processes to traditional stoichiometric transformations for chemicals and fuels. Catalysis adheres to the principles of Green Chemistry and excites the minds of budding undergraduate chemists, as well as myself.

Areas of critical importance to the field of catalysis and synthesis are:

  • the development of air-tolerant, mild, additive-free catalytic transformations for fine chemicals production
  • the design of new polymerization catalysts to make polymeric materials
  • the development of Earth-abundant catalysts for the reduction of CO2 to methanol
  • the synthesis of new ligand scaffolds using greener microwave technology for use in rare earth metalation reactions.

Work in my lab contributes to these areas as we prepare new catalysts and ligands and conduct carefully crafted mechanistic studies in order to improve upon a variety of relevant reactions.

Download Research Poster