Christopher C Cummins

About

Christopher C. Cummins is the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at MIT. His research group focuses on developing new methods of inorganic synthesis to address a variety of interesting questions. His work encompasses chemical synthesis, reaction discovery, reagent development, and mechanistic studies. Under his direction, the group is engaged in developing anthracene-based precursors to reactive intermediates, including P2, aminophosphinidenes, SO, phosphinidene chalcogenides, and other heavier main-group multiply bonded species not stabilized by sterically demanding substituents. The research also involves advancing group transfer reactivity, elaborating ligands from P2 cycloaddition chemistry for catalysis applications, and creating building blocks for poly and oligophosphate containing compounds, with applications in tri and tetraphosphorylation of nucleophiles. Additionally, his group investigates transition-metal mediated processes for phosphinidene transfer to olefins, aiming to develop methods such as phosphiranation, the phosphorus counterpart to epoxidation or aziridination. His research integrates synthetic chemistry with quantum chemical investigations to understand potential energy surfaces and chemical bonding nuances in novel systems. A significant aspect of his work is phosphorus sustainability, focusing on energy-efficient and waste-minimal routes to value-added phosphorus chemicals from recovered and recycled materials.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Materials science
• Biochemistry
• Stereochemistry
• Environmental science
• Mathematics
• Biochemical engineering
• Engineering

Selected publications

• Let’s Make White Phosphorus Obsolete

  ACS Central Science · 2020 · 98 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Industrial and laboratory methods for incorporating phosphorus atoms into molecules within the framework of Green Chemistry are in their infancy. Current practice requires large inputs of energy, involves toxic intermediates, and generates substantial waste. Furthermore, a negligible fraction of phosphorus-containing waste is recycled which in turn contributes to negative environmental impacts, such as eutrophication. Methods that begin to address some of these drawbacks are reviewed, and some k…

  DOI

• Bacterial Phosphate Granules Contain Cyclic Polyphosphates: Evidence from ³¹P Solid-State NMR

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2020 · 46 citations

  cell extracts is metabolized to trimetaphosphates, supporting the presence and biological role of metaphosphates in cells. The definitive evidence for the presence of metaphosphates, reported here in whole bacterial cells for the first time, opens the path for future investigations of the biological function of metaphosphates in many organisms.

  DOI

• Isolation of an elusive phosphatetrahedrane

  Science Advances · 2020 · 46 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  core. The molecule exhibits unexpected thermal stability.

  DOI

• Synthesis and reactivity of an N-heterocyclic carbene–stabilized diazoborane

  Science · 2024-07-18 · 28 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Diazo compounds and organic azides are widely used as reagents for accessing valuable molecules in multiple areas of fundamental and applied chemistry. Their capacity to undergo versatile chemical transformations arises from the reactive nature of an incipient dinitrogen molecule at the terminal position. In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-stabilized diazoborane-a boron-centered analog of organic azides and diazoalkanes. The diazoborane…

  PublisherDOI

• Synthesis of Phosphet-2-one Derivatives via Phosphinidene Transfer to Cyclopropenones

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023-11-27 · 25 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  We report the first synthesis and structural characterization of free, uncomplexed phosphet-2-ones. These unsaturated four-membered phosphacycles were prepared by phosphinidene transfer from dibenzo-7-phosphanorbornadiene compounds, RPA (A = C14H10, anthracene), to cyclopropenones in yields of up to 89%. Theoretical studies suggest that the reaction proceeds through ketene-ylide and ketene-phosphaalkene intermediates. Further transformations of the phosphet-2-ones led to the isolation of more ph…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Synthesis of d- and p-Block Element Molecules, Reagents, and Precursors

  NSF · $450k · 2017–2020

• Synthesis of d- and p-Block Element Molecules, Reagents, and Precursors

  NSF · $624k · 2014–2017

• Reagents for Chemical Oligophosphorylation, Synthesis of Oligophosphate-Organic Molecule Conjugates, and Biochemical Studies

  NIH · $1.2M · 2020–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Carl D. Hoff

  University of Miami

  118 shared

• E.V. Rybak-Akimova

  Tufts University

  114 shared

• Jun Okuda

  RWTH Aachen University

  113 shared

• Laurent Maron

  Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets

  106 shared

• Joshua S. Figueroa

  University of California, San Diego

  79 shared

• A. Mendiratta

  Lam Research (United States)

  77 shared

• Daniel G. Nocera

  77 shared

• Wesley J. Transue

  Stanford University

  72 shared

Labs

• Cummins groupPI

Similar researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Moungi Bawendih-181
• Stephen Leffler Buchwaldh-179
• Robert Guy Griffinh-121