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What we do

Our laboratory is conducting research in molecular inorganic, coordination and organometallic chemistry with an emphasis on developing economical, abundant and efficient catalysts for sustainable production of commodity and fine chemicals. Our research interests include: (1) homogeneous catalysis for sustainable chemical and energy technologies; (2) activation of small molecules by transition metal complexes for their conversion into liquid fuels and chemical feedstock; (3) development of new abundant metal catalysts for chemo-, regio-, and enantio-selective transformation of organic substrates into value-added products; (4) organometallic approaches to solar energy harnessing. For more information on actual projects in our laboratory, check here. 

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Our research is mainly focused on the chemistry of the first-row transition metals and covers ligand design and many theoretical, synthetic and structural aspects of coordination and organometallic compounds. We extensively use different physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques for characterization of transition metal complexes and study their properties and reactivity.  A large part of our research is devoted to understanding the reactivity of our target complexes and the mechanisms of catalytic reactions in order to develop even better systems with predictable properties and reactivity patterns.

RESEARCH TOOLS

Our laboratory consists of three rooms: room 7.508 in block 7, room 9.310 in block 9 and room 538 in C4 block (a brand new state-of-the-art research facilities building at Nazarbayev University).  All laboratories are fully equipped with standard synthetic chemistry equipment, state-of-the-art synthetic organic and Schlenk glassware, and custom made dual bank vacuum/inert gas manifolds. The Khalimon Group has 60 MHz Magritek SpinSolve Benchtop NMR Spectrometer for routine analysis and 2 single station inert atmosphere gloveboxes (LC-150 from LC Technology Solutions Inc.), equipped with oxygen and moisture sensors, cooling baths for low temperature experiments and -30°C freezers. One glovebox is connected to electrocatalytic work station and a benchtop solvent purification system (SPBT-1 from LC Technology Solutions Inc.). The Khalimon Group has a Luzchem photochemical reactor, several 300 mL Parr Pressure Vessels (autoclave reactors) equipped with a stand support with a heater and controller and has an access to Parr 3911 Shaker Hydrogenation Apparatus, microwave reactor, and GC, GC-MS, HPLC, UV-vis/fluorescence and FT-IR spectrometers shared by the Department of Chemistry. The Department of Chemistry also uses JEOL JNM-ECA 500 MHz NMR spectrometer managed by Nazarbayev University Core Facilities.  In addition, Core Facilities provide researchers with technical support, services and all necessary equipment for instrumental, thermal and micro analysis and materials analysis and characterization:

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  • HORIBA Scientific LabRam Evolution Raman Spectroscope

  • Thermo Fisher Scientific Lumina Fluorescence Spectrometer

  • Nicolet iS10 FT-IR Spectrometer

  • Gas chromatograph

  • TSQ 8000 Evo Triple Quadrupole GC-MS/MS

  • Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer

  • Perkin Elmer Simultaneous Thermal Analyzer (STA) 6000

  • Perkin Elmer 2400 Series II CHNS/O Elemental Analyzer

  • Elementar Unicube CNHS/O Elemental Analyzer

  • Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000 UHPLC

  • Thermo Scientific HPLC Accela 600

  • Axios Max X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

  • Analytik Jena AG - contrAA 700 - High-Resolution Continuum Source Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

  • Quantachrome POREMASTER Automated Mercury Porosimeter

  • Quantachrome Autosorb IQ Gas Sorption Analyzer

  • Mastersizer 3000 Particle Size Analyzer

  • Ultratech Fiji G2 Atomic Layer Deposition System

  • Kurt Lesker LAB-18 Magnetron Sputtering System

  • Rigaku SmartLab Automated multipurpose X-ray diffractometer (XRD)

  • Carl Zeiss Crossbeam 540 with GEMINI II Scanning Electron Microscope

  • JEOL JEM-1400 Plus Transmission Electron Microscope

  • AIST-NT SmartSPM 1000 Scanning Probe Microscope

   

     and others, for complete list of available equipment, please check here.

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RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS

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  • School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

  • School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

  • School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

  • Ualikhanov Kokshetau State University, Kazakhstan

  • Institute of Polymer Materials and Technologies, Kazakhstan

  • Institute of Coal Chemistry and Technology, Kazakhstan

  • Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia

  • Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia

  • Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

  • Brock University, Canada

  • University of Windsor, Canada

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