Contact Information
University of Illinois
A526 CLSL, Box 4-6
600 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Areas
Biography
Professor Girolami received his B.S. degrees in chemistry and physics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Thereafter, he was a NATO postdoctoral fellow with Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson at Imperial College of Science and Technology, and joined the Illinois faculty in 1983.
Research Interests
synthesis of transition metal complexes and their use as catalysts, as precursors for the chemical vapor deposition of thin films, and as building blocks for novel magnetic materials; metal-organic chemical vapor deposition; organometallic chemistry and catalysis; synthesis of new molecular magnets
Research Description
We are primarily interested in the synthesis, properties, and reactivity of new inorganic, organometallic, and solid state species. Much of our research relates to one of four areas: mechanistic studies of organometallic reactions such as the activation of alkanes, the synthesis of new "molecule-based" magnetic materials, the chemical vapor deposition of thin films from "designed" molecular precursors, and the design of an artificial photosynthetic center.
Awards and Honors
Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award
Sloan Foundation Fellowship
Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
University Scholar Award
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Chemistry
Director of Graduate Studies, Chemistry
Honors & Awards
Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award
Sloan Foundation Fellowship
Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
University Scholar Award
Recent Publications
Capra, N. E., Trinh, B. B., & Girolami, G. S. (2025). Weakly Bound but Strongly Interacting: The Structures, Stabilities, and Dynamics of Osmium(II) Ethane, Propane, and Butane Complexes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147(9), 7377-7390. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c13921
Edmonsond, N. D., Flores, V. J., & Girolami, G. S. (2025). Synthesis, Characterization, and Thermolysis Studies of Binary Malondialdehydate Complexes of Copper(II) and Palladium(II). Chemistry of Materials, 37(11), 4120-4129. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c00568
Flores, V. J., & Girolami, G. S. (2025). Synthesis, characterization, and thermal properties of volatile 1,4-dialkyl-5-silatetrazolines: nitrogen-rich silicon heterocycles as possible CVD precursors for silicon nitride. Dalton Transactions, 54(23), 9399-9404. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4dt03473b
Lastowski, R. J., Flores, V. J., Souqui, L., Abelson, J. R., & Girolami, G. S. (2024). Compounds with Chelating 3-Dimethylamino-1-propyl Ligands as Chemical Vapor Deposition Precursors. Synthesis and Characterization of M[(CH2)3NMe2]2 Complexes of Nickel(II), Palladium(II), and Platinum(II). Organometallics, 43(20), 2548-2556. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.organomet.4c00186
Lastowski, R. J., Vogiatzis, K. D., & Girolami, G. S. (2024). Measuring the Magnetic Anisotropy of Metal-Metal Multiple Bonds: The Importance of Correcting for Ligand Effects. Inorganic Chemistry, 63(34), 15546-15556. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02329