Co-developed a new class of group transfer reactions that result in tri- and tetrasubstituted borylated alkenes with regio- and stereochemistry set by the cyclization step of an electrophilic cyclization reaction with B-chlorocatecholborane as the electrophile.Expanded the mechanistic concept underpinning the group transfer reaction, with iodine in place of boron.Investigated the group transfer mechanism by isolating reaction intermediates and characterizing regio- and stereochemistry by 1H, 11B, 13C, and 19F NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography.Demonstrated the reactivity of isolable reaction intermediates and products through a range of downstream functionalization reactions.Developed an alkyne thioarylation-cyclization method using gold(I)/(III) catalysis to generate 2,3-dihydrothiopheniums.Used mechanistic studies to identify substrate inhibition, determine electronic effects, and pinpoint rate- and selectivity-determining steps for the aforementioned gold catalysis.

Synthesized novel fused-ring acceptors and their precursors for analysis as non-fullerene acceptors in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics. Analyzed fundamental properties of synthesized fused-ring acceptors.