Dr. Matthias Selke

Professor of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
California State University, Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032

E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (323) 343-2347
Fax: (323) 343 6490

Our research is centered around the chemistry of singlet oxygen (¹O₂), the lowest excited state of the dioxygen molecule. We have been exploring reactions of singlet oxygen with heteroatoms such as phosphorus and sulfur and the interaction of singlet oxygen with antioxidants such as trans-resveratrol. We are especially interested in mechanistic pathways of such oxidation reactions. Kinetic measurements, trapping experiments and low-temperature observation of reactive intermediates are performed to understand what type of peroxidic intermediates are formed. It is important to understand the nature of such reactive intermediates because they are often better oxidants than dioxygen (in its triplet or singlet state) itself.

We are also interested in the development of non-porphyrin, metal-based sensitizers and the use of nanopartcles and quantum dot-photosensitizer hybrids as efficient sensitizers. More about singlet oxygen can be read here.

Representative Publications

Cagan, D.A.; Garcia, A. C.; Li, K.; Ashen-Garry, D.; Tadle, A. C.; Zhang, D.; Nelms, K.J.; Liu, Y.; Shallenberger, J. R.; Stapleton, J.J.; Selke, M. "Chemistry of Singlet Oxygen with a Cadmium-Sulfur Cluster: Physical Quenching versus Photooxidation" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 67-71.
Ashen-Garry, D.; Selke, M. " Singlet Oxygen Generation by Cyclometalated Complexes and Applications", Photochem. Photobiol. 2014, 90, 257-274.
Zhang, D.; Bin, Y.; Tallorin, L.; Tse, F.; Hernandez, B.; Errol, M.; Stewart, T.; Bau, R.; Selke, M. "Sequential Photooxidation of a Pt(II)Diimine)Cysteamine Complex: Intermolecular Oxygen Atom Transfer vs. Sulfinate Formation", Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 1676-1678.
Celaje, J.; Zhang, D.; Guerrero, A.M.; Selke, M. "Chemistry of trans-Resveratrol with Singlet oxygen: [2+2] Addition, [4+2] Addition, and Formation of the Phytoalexin Moracin M", Org. Lett. 2011,13, 4846-4849.
Tsay, J.M.; Trzoss, M.; Shi, L.; Kong, X.; Selke, M.; Jung, M.E.; Weiss, S. "Singlet Oxygen Production by peptide-Coated Quantum Dot-Photosensitizer Conjugates" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 6865-6871.
Ho, D.G.; Gao, R.; Celaje, J.; Chung, H.-Y.; Selke, M., “Phosphadioxirane: A Peroxide from an Ortho-Substituted Arylphosphine and Singlet Dioxygen”, Science 2003, 302, 259-262.

For a complete publication list of the Selke group, please go here.