Dr. Peter Portius

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 and then research associate 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, high energy compounds, main group element - transition metal multiple bonds, time-resolved infrared spectroscopy.

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

Our scientific interests are in the field of high energy compounds from preparation to understanding and controlling reactivity as well as in the area of practical applications. We want to understand the factors which govern their stability (with respect to thermal and mechanical shocks as well as to light) and energy release. Our current research pursues two main strands: (i) synthesis and characterisation of novel energetic coordination compounds and (ii) photochemistry of nitrogen-rich covalent compounds. The potential applications of our research range from chemical energy storage to pyrotechnics, explosives, and propellants.

Energetic coordination compounds

Work in this area involves the exploration of preparative approaches toward new main-group element complexes bearing all-nitrogen or nitrogen-rich ligands. Specific systems we study are

• polyazido complexes, such as [E(N₃)₆]- (E = P shown left)
• poly(tetrazolato) complexes
• polynitrato complexes

Research is directed towards the synthesis of new complexes and the study of their stability and reactivity and the derivation of structure-stability relationships.

Photochemistry and photophysics of nitrogen-rich covalent compounds

Photochemical transformations of high-energy compounds are not understood well. They offer interesting opportunities into studying the mechanism of decomposition of such compounds. In particular, we are interested in the photophysics and photochemistry of nitrogen-rich compounds, which are studied using a combination of Laser excitation and time-resolved infrared spectroscopy (a typical TRIR spectrum shown right).

Facilities

Apart from the excellent departmental instrumentation facilities for spectroscopy (NMR, IR, MS) and X-ray diffraction, which are vital for the characterisation of the nitrogen-rich materials, we also make regular use of a major national facitility for Laser spectroscopy in the UK, situated at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Laser for Science Facility, LSF, http://www.clf.rl.ac.uk/).

General

Students and postdocs have the opportunity to engage in many aspects of our research, while developing greater expertise and interests in particular aspects of a specific project. Many projects involve the synthesis of organic or coordination compounds and energetic compounds, which sometimes will involve special techniques directed toward safe synthesis methods. Multinuclear NMR and IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry are widely employed and extensive use is made of single crystal X-ray diffraction. Materials are often characterised by DSC and TGA methods. We use computational chemistry in order to support our understanding of thermal stability and predict properties of new energetic complexes. Collaborations are vital for our work and students have the opportunity to visit other research labs.

Teaching Section

Inorganic Chemistry

Undergraduate Courses Taught

The chemistry of explosives (Year 1)
This segment is to provide a basic overview of the chemistry of explosive compounds: their formulation, behaviour, properties and applications.
Characterisation using Spectroscopy (Year 2)
This segment introduces a variety of spectroscopic techniques which are used for the characterisation of molecules and complexes in inorganic chemistry, and shows how these methods can be used (on their own and in combination) to provide information about the structure of molecules and properties of inorganic compounds. In particular, mass spectrometry (EI, MALDI, ESI), UV/visible absorption spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy (³¹P, ¹⁹F, ¹¹B, ¹⁰⁹Rh etc.) and EPR spectroscopy (S = ½) are included and the concept of spectroscopic timescale is discussed.
Inorganic Materials (Year 3)
The course provides an overview of synthesis, structures and properties of selected inorganic materials. A survey of different methods of synthesis of materials is provided. The structures and applications of zeolites and related silicate materials are presented. The preparation and applications of semiconductor materials are introduced.
Spectroscopic structure determination (Year 4)
This course provides an an overview of time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, advanced mass spectroscopy and matrix isolation techniques.

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.

Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry