School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences

Gregory Jackson

W. Gregory Jackson

Professor Emeritus
DSc (UNSW), PhD (Melb), BSc (Hons), FRACI, CChem

Telephone: +61 2 6268 8078 / 8917
Mobile:  0412994671
Fax: +61 2 6268 8090 or 6268 8017
Email:  g.jackson@adfa.edu.au
Location:  PEMS North, Room 219

My UNSW Research Gateway Profile

Research Interests:
My research interests span a broad range of inorganic chemistry and these have been continuously well supported by the ARC. I have a strong interest in inorganic reaction mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on synthetic chemistry and the application of stereochemical principles to the solution of detailed mechanistic problems.

Molecular Design and Reaction Mechanisms

Biography

Greg Jackson is a graduate of Melbourne University (BSc Hons. Class 1 1968, PhD 1972). Following post doctoral work in Toronto (1971-73) with Professor Brice Bosnich and at Cambridge (1973-74) with Lord Professor Jack Lewis, he took up a Research Fellowship at the Australian National University (1974-77) working with Professor Alan Sargeson in the Research School of Chemistry. He was appointed to a lectureship at the Faculty of Military Studies (UNSW) at Duntroon in 1977, and transferred to the newly established University College in the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1986. In 1978 he was awarded the Royal Australian Chemical Institute's Rennie Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to original research. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1982, elected Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 1988, and promoted to full Professor in 1991. He was awarded the DSc degree from UNSW for research by published work in 2005.

He is author or co-author of one hundred and seventy research articles which include some specialist reviews. Outside interests include family, sport, music, philately, chess, the animals and gardening.

Research

Synthesis of inorganic compounds; development of inorganic complex synthons, especially those containing nitro, triflate and fluorosulfonate ions; inorganic reaction mechanisms, including the kinetics and stereochemistry of octahedral substitution, linkage isomerisation and other intramolecular rearrangements; base- and acid-catalysed hydrolysis mechanisms; reactions of coordinated ligands; O- and S-sulfito complexes; substitution reactions in non-aqueous solution; transient intermediates; the use of isotopes to deduce the stereochemistry of intermediates; the secondary kinetic isotope effect, D- stereoselectivity, the role of reaction type and solvent; reactivity and fluxionality of molecules in bridged dinuclear metal ions; NMR of bridged metal ion complexes; intramolecular condensation reactions; the reactivity and selectivity in oxidation and other reactions of sulfur and selenium containing ligands; optically active metal ion complexes, and general stereochemical problems in inorganic chemistry; the development of the concept and chemistry of molecular tubes; Se and other larger cages; 15N NMR studies of metal complexes of tetrazoles and related ligands; 14N and 17O NMR; reactions of coordinated dinitriles and nitrile-amides; SO32- substitution reactions; O- and S-sulfenate and sulfinate rearrangements; design and synthesis of pentadentate and hexadentate amine ligands having one or no NH centres; (tridentate)(bidentate) amine ligand systems, and incorporating S, Se or O donors; C-Me-4en and N-Me4cyclam chemistry; hexadentate ligands derived from tacn; pyridyl ligands, and unusual base catalysed substitution and rearrangement; new ways of thinking about substitution and other rearrangement processes; the concept of ligand folding; polynuclear amine complexes; metal ion complexes of macrocyclic ligands which facilitate activation of methylene groups (C-H cleavage, and oxidation); enforced carbon-bonded multidentates; historically significant coordination complexes; complexes of C-Me-4 (tmen) which are extraordinarily reactive.

Selected Publications

  1. Jackson, W.G., Dickle, A., Wells, K., 2007, Base catalysed substitution reactions of octahedral cobalt(III) complexes: Mechanism switching by changing the leaving group, Polyhedron, 26(2), 508-518.
  2. Jackson, W.G., 2006, Classic coordination complexes: The kinetics and stereochemistry of acid hydrolysis of cis- and trans-[Co(NH3)4Cl2]+, Polyhedron, 25(9), 1955-1966.
  3. Zhu, T., Jackson, W.G., Hockless, D.C.R., Willis, A.C., 2006, The kinetics and stereochemistry of base hydrolysis of the seven isomers of [Co(dien)(ampy)Cl]2+ and [Co(dien)(ibn)Cl]2+, Inorganica Chimica ACTA, 359(7), 2210-2225.
  4. Jackson, W.G., 2006, Synthesis, characterisation and substitution kinetics of unusually labile trans-[Co(tmen)(diamine)Cl2]+ complexes, Inorganica Chimica ACTA, 359(7), 2121-2127.
  5. Jackson, W.G., McKeon, J.A., Hockless, D.C.R., Willis, A.C., 2006, The reversible and stereoselective N- to C-bonded rearrangement of tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononanecobalt(III), Inorganic Chemistry, 45(10), 4119-4135.
  6. Jackson, W. G., Dickie, A. J, Mckeon, J. A, Spiccia, l., Brudenell, S., Hockless, D.C.R., Willis, A.C., 2005,  Synthesis, structure, and kinetics and stereochemistry of base-catalyzed hydrolysis of meso- and rac-[Co2(tmpdtne)Cl2]4+, bis(pentaamine) complexes devoid of deprotonatable NH centers, Inorganic Chemistry, 44(2), 401-409.
  7. Zhou, X., Day, A. I, Edwards, A.J., Willis, A.C., Jackson, W. G., 2005, Facile C-H bond activation: Synthesis of the N4C donor set pentadentate ligand 1,4-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,4-diazacyclononane (dmpdacn) and a structural study of its alkyl-cobalt(III) complex [Co(dmpdacn-C)(OH2)](ClO4)2·H2O and its hydroxylated derivative [Co(dmpdacnOH-O)Cl](ClO4)2·C3H6O, Inorganic Chemistry, 44(2), 452-460.
  8. Zhou, X., Hockless, D., Willis, A., Jackson, W. G., 2005, Oxidative condensation reactions of (diethylenetriamine)cobalt(III) complexes with substituted bis(pyridin-2-yl)methane ligands, Journal of Molecular Structure, 740(1-3), 91-100.
  9. Rahman, A.F.M., Jackson, W.G., Willis, A., 2004, The First Sideways-Bonded Peroxo Complex for a Tetraaminecobalt(III) Specie, Inorganic Chemistry, 43(24), 7558-7560.
  10. Jackson, W.G. , Mckeon, J.A., Zehnder, M. , Neuberger, M. ,  Fallab, S., 2004, The rediscovery of Alfred Werner's second hexol, Chem. Commun., 20, 2322-2323.
  11. Jackson, W.G., McKeon, J.A., Cortex, S., 2004, Alfred Werner's Inorganic Counterparts of Racemic and Mesomeric Tartaric Acid: A Milestone Revisted, Inorg. Chem., 43(20), 6249-6254.
  12. Jackson, W.G., 2004, Secondary deuterium kinetic isotope effect for aquation, solvolysis, and isomerization reactions of trans-[Co(en)2(OSMe2)N3]2+, and the resolution of a mechanistic anomaly, Inorganic Chemistry, 43(8), 2577-2584.
  13. Zhu, T., Guang-Yi, Z., Xue-Qiang, L., Sai-Feng, X., Qian-Jiang, Z., Jackson, W. G., Zhan-Bing, W., La-Sheng, L., 2004, C-H...[pi] interactions in the [Co(N-(2-aminomethylpyridyl)ethylenediamine)(2- aminomethylpyridine)Cl]2+ system: syntheses, 2D NMR, X-ray structures and energy minimizations, Inorganica Chimica ACTA, 357(4), 953-964.
  14. Zhu, T., Qian-Jiang, Z., Sai-Feng, X., Jackson, W. G., Zhong-Yuan, Z., Xiang-Ge, Z., 2004, Chemistry of [Co(triamine)(diamine)Cl]2+ complexes: the X-ray crystalstructures and ab initio calculations for five [Co(dien)(ampy)Cl]2+ isomers, Journal of Molecular Structure, 703(1-3), 83-92.
  15. Jackson, W.G., Rahman, A.F.M., Wong, M.A., 2004, Solvent exchange, solvent interchange, aquation and isomerisationreactions of cis- and trans-[Co(tmen)2(NCMe)2]3+ in water, Me2SOand MeCN: kinetics and stereochemistry, Inorganica Chimica ACTA, 357(3), 665-676.
  16. Jackson, W.G., McKeon, J.A., Balahura, R.J., 2004, N-methylmonothiocarbamatopentamminecobalt(III): Restricted C-N Bond Rotation and the Acid-Catalyzed O- to S-bonded Rearrangement, Inorganic Chemistry, 43(16), 4889-4896.
  17. Jackson, W.G., Dickie, A., Bhula, R., McKeon, J.A., Spiccia, L., Brudenell, S., Hockless, D., Willis, A., 2004, Pyridyl-based pentadentate ligands: Base-catalyzed hydrolysis of asym-[Co(dmptacn)Cl]2+, Inorganic Chemistry, 43(21), 6549-6556.