Organic Research
Research in organic chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill covers a broad range of subjects from synthetic methods development to the design of materials with functions inspired by biological systems. Research is often interdisciplinary and involves science at the frontiers of polymer chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, materials science and bioorganic chemistry.
With nine faculty members formally in the organic division and a number of faculty members from other divisions whose research involves organic chemistry, graduate students find they have a wide range of choices for their doctoral research.
- Synthetic Methods Development
- Natural Products Synthesis
- Chemical Catalysis
- Bioorganic Chemistry
- Molecular Photochemistry
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Molecular Recognition
- Chemical Biology
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Polymer Synthesis and Functionalization
Recent Research Results

The alkylation and heteroarylation of unactivated tertiary, secondary, and primary C(sp3)–H bonds was achieved by employing an acridinium photoredox catalyst along with readily available pyridine N-oxides as hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) precursors under visible light.

Thus, we have adapted our previously described "imprint-and-report" fluorescent sensing method using dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) to create a sensor array for these four metabolites that functions at physiologically relevant concentrations.