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Datong Song is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on Biological Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Polymer Material Chemistry. A significant aspect of his work involves the study of transition metal compounds, which exhibit fascinating reactivity due to their rich redox coordination chemistry. Nature utilizes transition metals in metalloenzymes such as oxygenase, hydrogenase, and nitrogenase, which exhibit higher activity and specificity than synthetic catalysts. These metalloenzymes often contain multiple metal ions in their active sites and/or cofactors that are associated with multi-electron redox processes involved in enzymatic mechanisms. The amino acid residues in the active site play a crucial role in catalysis by correctly positioning and orienting substrate molecules through hydrogen bonding and participating in proton and electron transfer pathways. Song's long-term research plans include the investigation of the factors influencing the properties of multinuclear transition metal compounds, focusing on various aspects such as metal center combinations, oxidation states, relative positions, electronegativities of donor atoms, and steric effects of surrounding ligands. The insights gained from his research aim at the rational design of highly efficient catalytic systems.
Department of Sociology