Madalyn Radlauer
Associate Professor, Organometallic, Inorganic, and Polymer Chemistry
408-924-5482
madalyn.radlauer@sjsu.edu
DH 517
Education
- B.S. Chemistry, Stanford University, 2008
- Ph.D. Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 2014
- Postdoctoral Research, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, 2014–2017
Research Interests
Many organometallic catalysts are limited in reactivity and scope or require rigorously controlled conditions to function efficiently. My group studies how organic polymers can modify the activity of these small molecule catalysts by confining them within a macromolecular environment. Using the tools of traditional organometallic chemistry and polymer chemistry, we synthesize catalysts to lower the activation barrier for challenging reactions relevant to the fuel economy, and these catalysts are appended to polymers. Thus, the small molecule catalysts will work as active sites within a larger scaffold, similar to a protein or enzyme. The polymers’ ability to alter catalytic activity will be explored, where we expect that this biomimetic approach will have significant effects.
