The University of Sheffield
Department of Chemistry

Picture of Dr. Peter PortiusDr. Peter Portius

Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry and EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow

Room: C80

Tel: +44-(0)114-22-29385

Fax: +44-(0)114-22-29436

email:

 


 

General Research Teaching

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Portius obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Humboldt University in Berlin in 2001, where he worked under the supervision of Prof. AC Filippou on the reactivity of germanium(II) compounds. After his PhD he became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, where he also was a Humboldt Fellow and a Marie Curie Fellow. In 2005 he became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn. In 2007 he was appointed as an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield, where he was appointed lecturer in 2010.

Research Keywords

Main Group Element Chemistry, Organometallic Chemistry, high energy compounds, main group element - transition metal multiple bonds.

Teaching Keywords

Spectroscopic Characterization

Selected Publications:

  • Combined experimental and theoretical investigation into C-H activation of cyclic alkanes by Cp ' Rh(CO)(2) (Cp ' = eta(5)-C(5)H(5) or eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)), Michael W. George, Michael B. Hall, Peter Portius, Amanda L. Renz, Xue-Zhong Sun, Michael Towrie and Xinzheng Yang, Dalton Trans. 2011, 40, 1751-1757.
  • Understanding the factors affecting the activation of alkane by Cp ' Rh(CO)(2) (Cp ' = Cp or Cp*), Michael W. George, Michael B. Hall, Omar S. Jina, Peter Portius, Xue-Zhong Sun, Michael Towrie, Hong Wu, Xinzheng Yang and Snezana D. Zaric, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2010, 107, 20178-20183.
  • Neutral Lewis Base Adducts of Silicon Tetraazide, Peter Portius, Alexander C. Filippou, Gregor Schnakenburg, Martin Davis and Klaus-Dieter Wehrstedt, Angew Chem Int Edit 2010, 49, 8013-8016.
  • A new hexakis(isocyanato)silicate(IV) and the first neutral Lewis-base adducts of silicon tetraisocyanate, Peter Portius and Martin Davis, Dalton Trans 2010, 39, 527-532.
  • Unusually Slow Photodissociation of CO from (eta(6)-C(6)H(6))Cr(CO)(3) (M = Cr or Mo): A Time-Resolved Infrared, Matrix Isolation, and DFT Investigation, Mohammed A. H. Alamiry, Nicola M. Boyle, Christopher M. Brookes, Michael W. George, Conor Long, Peter Portius, Mary T. Pryce, Kate L. Ronayne, Xue-Zhong Sun, Michael Towrie and Khuong Q. Vuong, Organometallics 2009, 28, 1461-1468.
  • A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study on the Role of Spin States in the Chemistry of Fe(CO)(5) Photoproducts, Maria Besora, Jose-Luis Carreon-Macedo, Alexander J. Cowan, Michael W. George, Jeremy N. Harvey, Peter Portius, Kate L. Ronayne, Xue-Zhong Sun and Michael Towrie, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 3583-3592.
  • Experimental and Theoretical Characterization of the Hexaazidophosphate(V) Ion, P. Portius, P. W. Fowler, H. Adams and T. Z. Todorova, Inorg. Chem. 2008, 47, 12004-12009.
  • Cell design for picosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy in high-pressure liquids and supercritical fluids, Xue-Zhong Sun, Peter Portius, David C. Grills, Alexander J. Cowan and Michael W. George, Appl. Spectrosc. 2008, 62, 24-29.
  • Probing the mechanism of carbon-hydrogen bond activation by photochemically generated hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borato carbonyl rhodium complexes: New experimental and theoretical investigations, Alexander J. Blake, Michael W. George, Michael B. Hall, Jonathan McMaster, Peter Portius, Xue Z. Sun, Michael Towrie, Charles Edwin Webster, Claire Wilson and Snezana D. Zaric, Organometallics 2008, 27, 189-201.

Research Interests

My scientific interests are in the field of high energy compounds, from preparation to understanding and controlling reactivity, and practical applications.

Research is directed towards the synthesis and characterisation of nitrogen rich polycycles and the study of their stability and reactivity towards transition metal complexes. Another current area of research is the synthesis and characterisation of main group element polyazides with an emphasis on understanding the factors which govern their stability and energy release (thermal, mechanical shock, light).

Teaching Section

Inorganic Chemistry

Undergraduate Courses Taught

  • CHM4007.2/CHM4008.2: Spectroscopic structure determination
    This course provides an understanding of the theory and techniques used in NMR and IR spectroscopy.

Tutorial & Workshop Support

  • First Year General Tutorials.
  • Second Year Inorganic Chemistry Tutorials.
  • Third Year Literature Review.
  • Fourth Year workshops.

Laboratory Teaching

  • Third Year Advanced Practical Chemistry Techniques
  • Fourth Year Research Project.