UF Department of Chemistry
Chemistry Laboratory Builing 410B (Faculty Office); Scott Family Hall 406H (Graduate Office)
Leslie Murray
V. T. & Louise Jackson Term Professor & Director of Graduate Studies
Research Focus
Biology and heterogeneous catalysts leverage the synergy or cooperativity that arises when reaction centers are in close proximity leads to effect challenging bond activation reactions, such as N2 fixation. Despite the evident potential, cooperativity is rarely incorporated by design in molecular systems. As a synthetic inorganic group with a biological bent, our research seeks to control and harness cooperativity through design, synthesis, and mechanistic studies, with the aim of opening new chemical reactivity space relevant to energy (renewability and security) and chemical synthesis. Using this approach, our polynuclear metal complexes have been reported as competent for N2 and CO2 reduction, CO homocoupling, and H2 activation, leveraging metal-ion redox and metal-ligand cooperativity.
Education and Training
2007–2010: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley (lab of Jeffrey R. Long)
2002–2007: Ph.D. Inorganic Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (lab of Stephen Lippard)
1998–2002: B.A. Chemistry and B.A. Biology, Swarthmore College
Selected Awards
University of Florida Research Foundation Professor (2020)
Visiting professor, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France (2020)
University Term Professor, University of Florida (2016 and 2019)
KAIST BK21 School of Molecular Science Lectureship Award (2019)
Selected Activities
Florida Section of the American Chemical Society: Chair (2013)
Florida Section of the American Chemical Society: Councilor (2017–2023)
Selected Publications
Bera, S.; Ghude, A.; Catalano, V. J.; Mouesca, J.-M.; Garcia-Serres, R.*; Murray, L. J.* Nitrite causes nitrosative stress to iron sulfur clusters. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 22329–22334.
Lorenzo Ocampo, M. V. and Murray, L. J.* Metal-Tuned Ligand Reactivity Enables CX2 (X = O, S) Homocoupling with Spectator Cu Centers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 1019-1025.
Eaton, M. C.; Catalano, V. J.; Shearer, J.; Murray, L. J.* Dinitrogen Insertion and Cleavage By a Metal-Metal Bonded Tri-Cobalt(I) Cluster. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 5649–5653.