UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Paula Diaconescu, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Website:

Paula Diaconescu's Laboratory.

Email Address:

pld@chem.ucla.edu

Work Email Address:

pld@chem.ucla.edu

Laboratory Address:

Mol Sci Bldg 1210, 1220

Work Address:

Mol Sci Bldg 1515

Fax Number:

1 (310) 206-4038

Lab Number:

1 (310) 825-7937

Work Phone Number:

1 (310) 794-4809
Associate Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry

A Short Biography:

Professor Diaconescu received her B.S. in 1998 from the University of Bucharest, Romania. She received her Ph.D. in 2003 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. She was a postdoctoral fellow, 2003-2005, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Awards and Honors:

UCLA Faculty Career Development Award
BP Postdoctoral Fellowship
Bruker/MIT Symposium Poster Prize
MIT Department of Chemistry Teaching Assistant Award
P & G Fellowship
University of Bucharest National Scholarship

Research Interest:

Early transition metals, lanthanides, and uranium (d0 fn elements) have shown impressive reactivity in transformations ranging from the activation of small, inert molecules such as methane, dinitrogen, and carbon dioxide to reactions with applications in natural product synthesis (e.g. hydroamination) and formation of biodegradable polymers. The high reactivity of d0fn metal centers makes it difficult to tune their behavior without rendering them unreactive. Our solution to this problem involves the design and synthesis of complexes with specific geometric and electronic properties. For example, for small molecule activation weak interactions, such as electronic assistance from an electron rich metal center, are used to generate highly reactive metal species. In a uranium bisferrocene compound, uranium was found to mediate the electronic communication between the two iron centers better than zirconium did in an analogous complex.


Detailed Biography:

Paula Diaconescu has joined the UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry department in 2005 after spending two-years as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Prof. Robert Grubbs at California Institute of Technology. She obtained her Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Prof. Christopher Cummins at Massachusetts Institute of Technology working on arene-bridged complexes of uranium. Her earlier education was completed in Romania, where she obtained her B.S. from University of Bucharest and worked on coordination complexes of transition metals and lanthanides at University Politehnica of Bucharest. Her current research efforts focus on the design of reactive metal complexes with applications to small molecule activation, organic synthesis, and polymer formation.

Publications:

Broderick EM, Thuy-Boun PS, Guo N, Vogel CS, Sutter J, Miller JT, Meyer K, Diaconescu PL   Synthesis and Characterization of Cerium and Yttrium Alkoxide Complexes Supported by Ferrocene-Based Chelating Ligands Inorg Chem., 2011; 50(7): 2870-7.
Paula Diaconescu   Actinide chemistry: A tale of two nitrides Nature Chemistry, 2010; 2: 705-6.
Marisa J. Monreal & Paula L. Diaconescu   The riches of uranium Nature Chemistry, 2010; 2: 424.
Colin T. Carver and Paula L. Diaconescu   Ring-Opening Reactions of Aromatic N-Heterocycles by Scandium and Yttrium Alkyl Complexes J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008; 24(130): 7558-7559.
Carver CT, Monreal MJ, Diaconescu PL   Scandium alkyl complexes supported by a ferrocene diamide ligand Organometallics, 2008; 27(3): 363-370.
Bercaw JE, Diaconescu PL, Grubbs RH, Hazari N, Kay RD, Labinger JA, Mehrkhodavandi P, Morris GE, Sunley GJ, Vagner P   Conversion of methanol to 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (triptane) over indium(III) iodide Inorganic Chemistry, 2007; 46(26): 11371-11380.
Gallon BJ, Kojima RW, Kaner RB, Diaconescu PL   Palladium nanoparticles supported on polyaniline nanofibers as a semi-heterogeneous catalyst in water Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2007; 46(38): 7251-7254.
Monreal MJ, Carver CT, Diaconescu PL   Redox processes in a uranium bis(1,1'-diamidoferrocene) complex Inorganic Chemistry, 2007; 46(18): 7226-7228.
Bercaw JE, Diaconescu PL, Grubbs RH, Kay RD, Kitching S, Labinger JA, Li XW, Mehrkhodavandi P, Morris GE, Sunley GJ, Vagner P   On the mechanism of the conversion of methanol to 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (triptane) over zinc iodide Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2006; 71(23): 8907-8917.
Cherry JPF, Diaconescu PL, Cummins CC   Portability of the RNNMo(3+) core - Application to the synthesis of dinitrogen-derived trialkoxymolybdenum organodiazenido complexes Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2005; 83(4): 302-307.
Soo, Han Sen; Diaconescu, Paula L.; Cummins, Christopher C.   A Sterically Demanding Enolate Ligand: Tantalum Ligation and Pyridine Coupling Organometallics, 2004; (23(3)): 498-503.
Clough, Christopher R.; Greco, Jane B.; Figueroa, Joshua S.; Diaconescu, Paula L.; Davis, William M.; Cummins, Christopher C.   Organic Nitriles from Acid Chlorides: An Isovalent N for (O)Cl Exchange Reaction Mediated by a Tungsten Nitride Complex J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004; (126(25)): 7742-7743.
Stephens, Frances H.; Figueroa, Joshua S.; Diaconescu, Paula L.; Cummins, Christopher C.   Molybdenum-Phosphorus Triple Bond Stabilization by Ancillary Alkoxide Ligation: Synthesis and Structure of a Terminal Phosphide Tris-1-methylcyclohexanoxide Complex J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 2003; (125(31)): 9264-9265.
Diaconescu, Paula L.; Cummins, Christopher C.   Diuranium Inverted Sandwiches Involving Naphthalene and Cyclooctatetraene J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002; (124(26)): 7660-7661.
Agapie, Theodor; Diaconescu, Paula L.; Cummins, Christopher C.   Methine (CH) Transfer via a Chlorine Atom Abstraction/Benzene-Elimination Strategy: Molybdenum Methylidyne Synthesis and Elaboration to a Phosphaisocyanide Complex J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002; (124(11)): 2412-2413.
Agapie, Theodor; Diaconescu, Paula L.; Mindiola, Daniel J.; Cummins, Christopher C.   Radical Scission of Symmetrical 1,4-Dicarbonyl Compounds: C-C Bond Cleavage with Titanium(IV) Enolate Formation and Related Reactions Organometallics, 2002; (21(7)): 1329-1340.
Brask, Justin K., Dura-Vila, Victor, Diaconescu, Paula L., Cummins, Christopher C.   Vanadium nitride functionalization and denitrogenation by carbon disulfide and dioxide Chem. Commun., 2002; 902-903.
Broderick, E. M. Diaconescu, P. L.   Cerium(IV) catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of lactide Inorg Chem, 2009; 48(11): 4701-6.
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