The Caputo Group is interested in the design and synthesis of new organic and organometallic complexes that can act as catalysts or precursors for the development of new photoactive materials. Photochemical and electrochemical techniques are used to test for catalytic activity and spectroscopic methods are used to study the photophysical properties of new materials. Current research projects are focussed on using Earth-abundant metals to synthesize organometallic complexes for the catalytic conversion of small molecules (e.g. CO, CO2 etc.) into more valuable sustainable fuel precursors using sunlight.
