The field of Inorganic Chemistry broadly focuses on the study of inorganic compounds, which are generally defined as compounds that are primarily made up of non-carbon elements. In the subfield of organometallic chemistry, chemists study compounds in which there is at least one organic group (i.e., carbon-containing) bonded to a metallic element. This field involves fundamental aspects of both the organic and inorganic chemistry fields. Due to the large number of compounds that fall into the category of inorganic chemistry, chemists in this field address a wide variety of chemical problems. 

Researchers at UVA Chemistry apply these concepts to multiple areas, including small molecule sensing, (electro)catalytic production of commodity chemicals and precursors, nanomaterials development, renewable energy conversion, small-molecule activation and the study of photochemical processes. Using a variety of synthetic, spectroscopic, and computational methods, fundamental and applied questions relevant to inorganic, organometallic, coordination, main group, rare earth, bioinorganic, supramolecular, and materials chemistry are being explored. For more information on current research underway in the various labs, visit the faculty websites below.