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Rudolf Wehmschulte

Professor | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Contact Information

rwehmsch@fit.edu
(321) 674-7659
F.W. Olin Physical Sciences, 314

Expertise

Catalysis, synthesis, inorganic chemistry, boron cluster chemistry, anaerobic and anhydrous chemistry

Educational Background

Vordiplom Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany 1985

Diplom Westfaelische Wilhelms Universitaet Muenster, Germany 1988

Dr. rer. nat. Westfaelische Wilhelms Universitaet Muenster, Germany 1991

Professional Experience

1992 - 1998: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA.

1998 - 2005: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

2005-2007: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

2007-2017: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

2017-present: Professor, Department of Chemistry, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

June-July 2017: Visiting Professor, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

April-May 2018: Visiting Professor, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

May-June 2019: Visiting Professor, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

May – July 2022: Visiting Professor, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

May – July 2023: Visiting Professor, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

January - July 2024: Fellow of  the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study

Selected Publications

Hussam Alhamza, Thomas Shaw, Titel Jurca, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and Structural Elucidation of Cage-Shaped Phosphonium Trisphenolato Gallium Compounds. Polyhedron 2023, 233, 116315. DOI: 10.1016/j.poly.2023.116315.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Brittany Bayliss, Sydney Reed, Corey Wesenberg, Pierpaolo Morgante, Roberto Peverati, Shon Neal, Christopher D. Chouinard, Daniela Tolosa, Douglas R. Powell, Zinc Ammonio-dodecaborates: Synthesis, Lewis Acid Strength, and Reactivity. Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 7032-7042.

Nicolas Adet, David Specklin, Christophe Gourlaouen, Thibault Damiens, Béatrice Jacques, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Samuel Dagorne. Towards “naked” Zn2+ in the condensed phase: synthesis, structure and reactivity of a highly Lewis acidic Zn(II) dication stabilized by weakly coordinating carborate anions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng. 2021, 60, 2084-2088.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Roberto Peverati, Douglas R. Powell. Convenient Access to Gallium(I) Cations through Hydrogen Elimination from Cationic Gallium(III) Hydrides. Inorg. Chem. 2019, 58, 12441-12445.

Clint E. Price, Ana B. Dantas, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Alkylaluminum, -gallium, -magnesium and –zinc monophenolates with bulky substituents. Z. Naturforsch. 2018, 73, 943-951.

Samuel Dagorne, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Recent Developments on the Use of Group 13 Metal Complexes in Catalysis. ChemCatChem. 2018, 10, 2509-2520.

Mahmoud Saleh, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Catalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Using Cationic Organoaluminum and –Gallium Compounds. Organometallics 2017, 36, 4810-4815.

Mahmoud Saleh, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Chlorination of 1-Carba-closo-dodecaborate and 1-Ammonio-closo-dodecaborate Anions. Inorg. Chem. 201655, 10617–10627.

Khalid M. Osman, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and Reactivity of Indium(I) 1-Carba-closo-undecachlorododecaborate. Inorg. Chem. 201554, 9195-9200.

Kenneth T. Bennae, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Lewis base adducts of diisobutylaluminum azide: synthesis and thermal stability J. Coord. Chem. 201568, 2470–2479.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Kenneth K. Laali, Gabriela L. Borosky, Douglas R. Powell. Synthesis and Structure of the First Bridgehead Silylium Ion. Organometallics 201433, 2146-2149.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Mahmoud Saleh, Douglas R. Powell. CO2 Activation with Bulky Neutral and Cationic Phenoxyalanes. Organometallics 201332, 6812-6819.

Manish Khandelwal; Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Deoxygenative Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Methane, Toluene, and Diphenylmethane with [Et2Al]+ as Catalyst. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 201251, 7323-7326. Deoxygenierende Reduktion von Kohlendioxid zu Methan, Toluol und Diphenylmethan mit [Et2Al]+ als Katalysator. Angew. Chem. 2012124, 7435-7439.

Manish Khandelwal, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Cationic Organoaluminum Compounds as Intramolecular Hydroamination Catalysts. J. Organomet. Chem. 2012696, 4179-4183.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Lukasz Wojtas. Cationic Ethylzinc Compound: A Benzene Complex with Catalytic Activity in Hydroamination and Hydrosilylation Reactions. Inorg. Chem. 201150, 11300-11302.

Tomasz Klis, Douglas R. Powell, Lukasz Wojtas, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and Characterization of Bulky Cationic Arylalkylaluminum Compounds. Organometallics 201130, 2563-2570.

Manish Khandelwal, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Low-Coordinate Aluminum Amides from Silylanilines and Alkylalanes. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2011, 521-526.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. At Last: A Stable Univalent Gallium Cation. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 201049, 4708-4709. Endlich – ein einwertiges Galliumkation. Angew. Chem. 2010122, 4816-4817.

Sukesh Shekar, Mamie M. Taylor, Brendan Twamley, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis of Aryloxyaluminum Hydrides and their Conversion into Aryloxyalumoxanes (ArOAlO)n. Dalton Trans. 2009, 9322-9326.

Bryan Buster, Armando A. Diaz, Tillman Graham, Rabiyah Khan, Masood A. Khan, Douglas R. Powell, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. m-Terphenylphosphines: Synthesis, structures and coordination properties. Inorg. Chim. Acta 2009362, 3465-3474.

Sukesh Shekar, Brendan Twamley, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Facile Synthesis of Monoazidotitanium Isopropoxides. Inorg. Chem. 200847, 10804-10806.

Armando A. Diaz, Bryan Buster, Daniel Schomisch, Masood A. Khan, J. Clayton Baum, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Size Matters: Room Temperature P-C Bond Formation Through C-H Activation in m-Terphenyldiiodophosphines. Inorg. Chem. 200847, 2858-2863.

Jackie D. Young; Masood A. Khan; Douglas R. Powell; Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Aluminum and Gallium m-Terphenyls: Synthesis and Conversion into Low-Coordinate Organogallium Cations. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2007, 1671-1681.

Brij B. Tewari, Sukesh Shekar, Longchuan Huang, Carolyn Gorrell, Timothy P. Murphy, Kevin Warren, Nasri Nesnas, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Aluminumoxyhydride: Improved Synthesis and Application as a Selective Reduction Agent. Inorg. Chem. 200645, 8807-8811.

Armando A. Diaz, Jackie D. Young, Masood A. Khan, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Facile Synthesis of Unsymmetrical 9-Phospha- and 9-Arsafluorenes. Inorg. Chem. 200645, 5568-5575.

Suwen Liu, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Guoda Lian, Christopher M. Burba. Room temperature synthesis of silver nanowires from tabular silver bromide crystals in the presence of gelatin. J. Solid State Chem. 2006179, 696-701.

Suwen Liu, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Iron-Filled Nodule-Containing Carbon Nanotubes: A Novel Assembly of Carbon Nanostructures. Carbon 200543, 1553-1558.

Jackie D. Young, Masood A. Khan, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and characterization of an almost linear, quasi-two-coordinate, cationic diorganoaluminum compound. Organometallics 200423, 1965-1967.

Suwen Liu, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Christopher M. Burba. Synthesis of Novel Nanostructured gamma-Al2O3 by Pyrolysis of Aluminumoxyhydride HAlO. J. Mater. Chem. 200313, 3107-3111.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Jared M. Steele, Masood A. Khan. Diterphenylgallium Alkyls and Hydride: Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity. Organometallics 200322, 4678-4684.

Suwen Liu, Ulrike Fooken, Christopher M. Burba, Margaret A. Eastman, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Nanostructured HAlO, a Novel Aluminumoxyhydride, Chem. Mater. 200315, 2803-2808.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Jared M. Steele, Jackie D. Young, Masood A Khan. [2,6-Mes2C6H3]2Ga+Li[Al{OCH(CF3)2}4]2 (Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2): A Compound Containing a Linear Unsolvated Two-Coordinate Gallium Cation, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003125, 1470-1471.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Armando A. Diaz, Masood A. Khan. Unsymmetrical 9-Borafluorenes via Low-Temperature C-H Activation of m-Terphenylboranes, Organometallics 200322, 83-92.

Michael C. Hodgson, Masood A. Khan, Rudolf J. Wehmschulte. Synthesis and Reactivity of Amidoaluminum Hydride Compounds as Potential Precursors to AlN, J. Cluster Sci. 200213, 503-520.

Rudolf. J. Wehmschulte, Brendan Twamley, Masood A. Khan. Synthesis and Characterization of an Unsolvated Dimeric Diarylmagnesium Compound and Its Magnesium Iodide Byproducts. Inorg. Chem. 200140, 6004-6008.

Rudolf J. Wehmschulte, Masood A. Khan, Shawn I. Hossain. Reaction of m-Terphenyldichlorophosphanes with Sodium Azide: Synthesis and Characterization of Stable Azidocyclophosphazenes. Inorg. Chem. 200140, 2756-2762.

Ulrike Fooken, Masood A. Khan, Rudolf. J. Wehmschulte. Novel Aluminum Hydride Derivatives from the Reaction of H3AlNMe3 with the Cyclosilazanes [Me2SiNH]3 and [Me2SiNH]4. Inorg. Chem. 200140, 1316-1322.

Rudolf. J. Wehmschulte, Masood A. Khan, Brendan Twamley, Berthold Schiemenz. Synthesis and Characterization of a Sterically Encumbered Unsymmetrical 9-Borafluorene, Its Pyridine Adduct and Its Dilithium Salt. Organometallics, 200120, 844-849.

Recognition & Awards

2023 Fellow of  the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study USIAS (https://www.usias.fr/en/fellows/2023-fellows/)

Research

Generation of "naked" cations for catalysis and fundamental research

Synthesis and application of boron cage compounds as "weakly coordinating anions"

Low oxidation state aluminum, gallium and indium compounds as alternatives to transition metal catalysts 

Low-coordinate cationic aluminum and gallium compounds and their application in catalysis including activation of CO2

Synthesis of CO releasing compounds based on boron

Research & Project Interests

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