Ian Tonks
@ianatonks.bsky.social
chemistry professor. catalysis, mechanism, synthesis, and polymers. likes to run.
https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/tonksgroup/home
https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/tonksgroup/home
Great visit out to Oxford for the Faraday Discussion on Polymerisation/Depolymerisation! Thanks to Antoine and Charlotte for the invitation to contribute a paper and talk (and get grilled for an hour on said paper/talk)!
September 10, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Great visit out to Oxford for the Faraday Discussion on Polymerisation/Depolymerisation! Thanks to Antoine and Charlotte for the invitation to contribute a paper and talk (and get grilled for an hour on said paper/talk)!
chemdraw updated on me (23.1.2) and what the actual F is this new logo. Like am I at a suburban chopped salad fast casual joint or did my benzene just roll around too much so that the corners eroded off or...
August 11, 2025 at 6:40 PM
chemdraw updated on me (23.1.2) and what the actual F is this new logo. Like am I at a suburban chopped salad fast casual joint or did my benzene just roll around too much so that the corners eroded off or...
2 new Tonks Group articles out this week in my favorite journal Organometallics: a dive into Ti-catalyzed hydrohydrazination catalyst structures, and expanding an approach for carbonylative polymerizations! Congrats to Partha, Ryan, and Janaya! doi.org/10.1021/acs.... pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
August 7, 2025 at 1:54 PM
2 new Tonks Group articles out this week in my favorite journal Organometallics: a dive into Ti-catalyzed hydrohydrazination catalyst structures, and expanding an approach for carbonylative polymerizations! Congrats to Partha, Ryan, and Janaya! doi.org/10.1021/acs.... pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
A long-overdue follow-up (original in 2016) on Ti-catalyzed carboamination: now selective, thanks to Michael and a Ti-iodide catalyst! Out in ACS Catal today. This is a neat one in that selectivity may emerge from a post-catalytic rearrangement of the kinetic product. doi.org/10.1021/acsc...
July 23, 2025 at 2:45 PM
A long-overdue follow-up (original in 2016) on Ti-catalyzed carboamination: now selective, thanks to Michael and a Ti-iodide catalyst! Out in ACS Catal today. This is a neat one in that selectivity may emerge from a post-catalytic rearrangement of the kinetic product. doi.org/10.1021/acsc...
Congrats to Dr. Ryan Anderson, who defended his PhD yesterday! Ryan's work into sustainable polymers was funded through the generous support from the MN Corn Research and Promotion Council. He's now off to Dow Chemical to continue these efforts!
June 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Congrats to Dr. Ryan Anderson, who defended his PhD yesterday! Ryan's work into sustainable polymers was funded through the generous support from the MN Corn Research and Promotion Council. He's now off to Dow Chemical to continue these efforts!
Propaganda vs news: a case study.
June 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Propaganda vs news: a case study.
Paper alert: Rachel D. developed a 4-component 2+2+1+1 route to dihydropyrimidines, leveraging my favorite diazatitanacycle synthetic intermediate! Out now in chemcomm: pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A... Congrats, Rachel, who got this out just in time for her PhD defense in a few weeks!
![[2+2+1+1] route to dihydropyrimidines from alkynes, nitriles, Ti imidos, and aldehydes](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cqaphaedba5jcldb2ozkccab/bafkreieeqzzceehgq25lslo764swiuerjib7foxpbx3ahsyyi3v5l2r27q@jpeg)
May 15, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Paper alert: Rachel D. developed a 4-component 2+2+1+1 route to dihydropyrimidines, leveraging my favorite diazatitanacycle synthetic intermediate! Out now in chemcomm: pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A... Congrats, Rachel, who got this out just in time for her PhD defense in a few weeks!
Great time out at the Burgenstock conference! Thrilled that my awesome colleague Courtney Roberts @cortnieroberts.bsky.social was selected as a JSP Fellow! And… how many conferences do you transit to/from via boat??
May 8, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Great time out at the Burgenstock conference! Thrilled that my awesome colleague Courtney Roberts @cortnieroberts.bsky.social was selected as a JSP Fellow! And… how many conferences do you transit to/from via boat??
Congrats to Ryan and Takuya on publishing their work on the synthesis & ROP of lactones made from cotelomerization isoprene/butadiene w/CO2! This is part of an upcoming Faraday Discussion on polymerisation and depolymerisation in Fall, so here's the chemrxiv in the meantime! doi.org/10.26434/che...
March 26, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Congrats to Ryan and Takuya on publishing their work on the synthesis & ROP of lactones made from cotelomerization isoprene/butadiene w/CO2! This is part of an upcoming Faraday Discussion on polymerisation and depolymerisation in Fall, so here's the chemrxiv in the meantime! doi.org/10.26434/che...
Ti-catalyzed diamination with hydrazines! Check out our latest JACS deep-dive into this fascinating reaction initially discovered by Mountford. Congrats to 1st author Partha who put his sweat and tears into this, and thanks to Yuya and the ETH team for a great collaboration! doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
March 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Ti-catalyzed diamination with hydrazines! Check out our latest JACS deep-dive into this fascinating reaction initially discovered by Mountford. Congrats to 1st author Partha who put his sweat and tears into this, and thanks to Yuya and the ETH team for a great collaboration! doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
I am more of a Seymour Skinner these days, myself!
January 30, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I am more of a Seymour Skinner these days, myself!
Our latest in my favorite journal, Organometallics! Simple Ti imidos catalyze alkyne carboamination w/imines; a tough rxn with few examples in the lit. We dive in a bit on some of the byproducts limiting utility! Congrats to PD Ross Koby! My 50th(!!) pub w/ACS! pubs.acs.org/cms/10.1021/...
January 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Our latest in my favorite journal, Organometallics! Simple Ti imidos catalyze alkyne carboamination w/imines; a tough rxn with few examples in the lit. We dive in a bit on some of the byproducts limiting utility! Congrats to PD Ross Koby! My 50th(!!) pub w/ACS! pubs.acs.org/cms/10.1021/...
Seen on campus today: TURKEY TRACKS in the snow!
January 10, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Seen on campus today: TURKEY TRACKS in the snow!
Still the best, 40 years running!
December 12, 2024 at 2:36 PM
Still the best, 40 years running!
Look at this fat little squirrel defying gravity.
November 10, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Look at this fat little squirrel defying gravity.