Research in the Rafiee Group focuses on the Electrosynthesis and Molecular Electrochemistry.
Electroorganic chemistry is a multidisciplinary science that bridges the fields of electroanalytical chemistry, material science, and organic chemistry. From a synthetic perspective, its principal aim is to provide an environmentally benign alternative to classic organic synthesis by avoiding wasteful reagents. Particular emphases will be placed on the rational design of new electrocatalytic reactions to address unsolved problems in organic synthesis and sustainable chemistry.
From the mechanistic perspective, there’s a special emphasis on every electron. The current flowing through the electrode surface is an easy-to-gauge quantity that offers a unique mechanistic tool for the study of the redox reactions and their coupled chemical reactions. Among many electrochemical techniques presented for the study of chemical reactions, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) is the best representative of these mechanistic tools. CV is easy to apply experimentally, readily available by default on all the in commercial potentiostats and has proven to be very useful tool in obtaining information about fairly complicated electrode reactions. The power of cyclic voltammetry results from its adjustable experimental time scale over several orders of magnitude by changing the potential scan rate. Creative use of CV and other electroanalytical techniques plays a central role in the development of these redox based reactions.