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[[|thumb| Fields: Organometallic Chemistry

Institutions: University of California, Berkeley ]] Don T. Tilley ( born in Norman, Oklahoma, November 22, 1954) is the Professor of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley.

Career
In 1977, Tilley received his B.S degree in chemistry from University of Texas. He earned his Ph.D. degree working on organolanthanide chemistry with Richard Andersen at UC Berkeley in 1982. He conducted a post-doctoral research stint working jointly with Bob Grubbs and John Bercaw at California Institute of Technology and with Luigi Venanzi and Piero Pino at ETH in Switzerland. He started his independent research lab at UC San Diego in 1983. In 1994, he was appointed as a Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and as a Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Throughout his career, he has published over 370 papers on various subjects in materials, organometallic and inorganic chemistry. Tilley has also been serving as the North American Associate Editor for Chemical Communication, covering inorganic, organometallic and materials chemistry since 2005.

Research
Tilley’s research group focuses on exploratory synthetic, structural, and reactivity studies on inorganic and organometallic systems. Catalysis and electronic materials are the main themes of his research group. Tilley’s research deals with: organometallic chemistry and homogenous catalysis, materials chemistry and heterogenous catalysis, organic electronic materials and supramolecular chemistry, and solar energy conversion. The different mechanisms of the reactions are investigated through reactivity studies. Metallocene catalysts that produce new polymers have been extensively explored by his team, and many new solid-state materials and heterogenous catalysts have been designed and developed. At UC San Diego, Tilley’s early career research focused on organometallic chemistry, particularly the chemistry of transition metal-silicon systems. A new polymerization mechanism for this system, “σ-bond metathesis”, was discovered through the investigations on early transition metal-silicon compounds. It was demonstrated that d0 metal-silicon bonds are highly reactive and can undergo rapid transformations. Tilley’s mechanistic work led to the discovery of dehydropolymerization of hydrosilanes to polysilianes through early metal complex catalysts. Other transition metal polymers were developed from this chemistry. For example, the first high molecular weight polystannanes were produced from the polymerization of secondary stannanes. Currently, homogenous catalysts for methane conversions via σ-bond metathesis are being developed using this chemistry. One notable example is a scandocene catalyst which can selectively hydromethylate olefins based on ligand composition  He also has conducted research on the synthesis, structure and function of transition metal complexes with silylene and other reactive silicon “intermediates” as ligands, such as in the dehydrocoupling of silanes. Most of Tilley’s current research deals with solar energy conversion, where surface-attached catalysts on the nanoscale are being developed for possible new methods of generating solar energy. His research program is part of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at LBNL. Water oxidation, proton reduction to hydrogen, and CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons are the primary reactions of interest.