Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry · UTEP
The Fortier Laboratory uses chemical synthesis and molecular architecture to build reactive metal complexes that reveal new chemistry across the Periodic Table.
A dititanium "molecular capacitor"
Elements of interest. Select one to browse its papers.
The Fortier Laboratory investigates fundamental inorganic chemistry with a focus on metals in unusual oxidation states and atypical coordination environments. Our work has broad relevance for challenging chemical transformations and energy applications.
We are especially adept in the synthesis, purification, crystallization, handling, and characterization of air- and water-sensitive molecules and paramagnetic complexes.
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Our group pursues fundamental questions in inorganic and organometallic chemistry, with applications ranging from catalysis to energy science.
The Fortier Group has never encountered a metal it did not want to reduce. We investigate metals in unusually reduced oxidation states to access highly reactive species with unusual bonding and reactivity, including "molecular capacitors" capable of multi-electron discharge.
Learn more →We design and synthesize iron and cobalt complexes featuring reactive metal–ligand multiple bonds. By stabilizing these challenging bonding motifs, we explore new approaches to bond activation and first-row transition-metal reactivity.
Learn more →We investigate the structure, bonding, and reactivity of uranium and other f-element complexes to better understand the unique chemistry of the actinide series, with emphasis on organometallic systems and spectroscopy.
Learn more →We design and synthesize sterically demanding and electronically tunable ligands to stabilize highly reactive metal centers and unusual bonding motifs.
Learn more →Fresh from the glovebox: the newest results out of the lab.
The Fortier Laboratory is a synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry group at the University of Texas at El Paso. Our work focuses on making and studying metal complexes that are difficult to access, especially compounds of highly electropositive metals in low oxidation states or atypical coordination environments. We are particularly interested in low-valent early transition metals, uranium and f-element chemistry, small-molecule activation, and ligand design.
The laboratory is led by Prof. Skye Fortier, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso. Prof. Fortier started the group in 2013 and was named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in 2018.
Our group works with metals from across the periodic table. This includes titanium, iron, and cobalt among the transition metals, as well as uranium and other actinides. We are especially interested in metals that can access unusual electronic structures and reactivity patterns.
Our work is built around synthetic inorganic chemistry. We specialize in preparing, handling, and characterizing air-sensitive, moisture-sensitive, and often highly reactive compounds. Depending on the project, we use techniques such as glovebox and Schlenk-line synthesis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, electronic absorption spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, electrochemistry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and computational analysis.
We are located in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas.
Prospective students, postdoctoral researchers, and collaborators are welcome to contact Prof. Fortier directly at asfortier@utep.edu or through the website's contact page. Students interested in joining the group should include a brief description of their research interests and relevant laboratory experience.