Our research is centered on understanding organic and organometallic reactions with the aid of the Rapid Injection NMR (RINMR) technique. The RINMR technique allows us to spectroscopically observe a chemical reaction during the course of the reaction, following the disappearance of starting materials and the appearance of products. Perhaps more importantly, the advent and departure of intermediates can be observed. Under appropriate reaction conditions, these intermediates can be studied using various NMR experiments ( 1H & 13C NMR, HMQC, HMBC, NOESY, ROESY and COSY) to be characterized and identified. With the RINMR apparatus, we can carry out a second (or even a third) injection to look at chemical reactions of these intermediates that are not possible to observe any other way.
Pictured above is a series of RINMR spectra for the silylation of a enone π- complex to give an η3 copper (III) intermediate.