James D. Blakemore
- Professor
- Keith D. Wilner Chair in Chemistry
Contact Info
1567 Irving Hill Road
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Education —
2012-2015
Specialization
- Inorganic
- Organometallic
- Energy
- Synthesis
- Materials
- Catalysis
Research —
Blakemore Research Group Poster
Our research program aims to address fundamental challenges in the efficient and sustainable production of energy, fuels, and chemicals. In our research, we integrate modern inorganic and organometallic chemistry, molecular electrochemistry, and surface science. The actinides (e.g., U, Np, and Pu), lanthanides, and transition metals are the focus of our work, especially complexes containing multiple metals. Improving management of nuclear fuels and handling of nuclear materials motivate many of our projects.
Students in the Blakemore Group are trained to synthesize and study inorganic and organometallic complexes that provide rational control of bonding and reactivity, including molecular electrocatalysts. We study redox-induced chemical reactions as well as electrode systems featuring immobilized redox-active molecular species. To accomplish this work, trainees and students in the Blakemore group learn to work with air- and moisture-free synthetic methods, X-ray crystallography (XRD), spectroscopy (e.g., NMR, EPR, UV-vis-NIR, IR, Raman, stopped-flow), electrochemistry, and techniques from surface science (e.g., XPS, UPS).
We collaborate with partners to obtain physicochemical insights into the properties of our compounds from computational modeling, advanced spectroscopy, and structural methods. Additionally, Prof. Blakemore currently holds a joint appointment at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to facilitate our ongoing collaboration with Dr. Richard Wilson in transuranium chemistry.
Teaching —
Inorganic chemistry is the focus of Prof. Blakemore’s teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Additionally, since 2024, Prof. Blakemore has led curriculum development for the Department of Chemistry’s required laboratory safety courses; live in-class demonstrations, carried out in collaboration with Dr. Jill Headrick, Laboratory Program Director, are used in the safety courses to illustrate key principles and provide memorable lessons. Prof. Blakemore also periodically teaches courses on f-element (lanthanide and actinide) chemistry and molecular electrochemistry. He tends to favor “board work” with real-time problem solving to share course content, enable informal discussion, and foster spontaneous interactions with students.
Prof. Blakemore emphasizes a mentoring-focused research group culture to foster an environment in which students can thrive. Along this line, trainees from the Blakemore Group have garnered significant recognition over the years. For example, at the undergraduate level, four students mentored by Prof. Blakemore have been named Goldwater Scholars. And, at the graduate level, a number of students have completed year-long collaborative research stays at ANL as awardees of the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program.
Selected Publications —
Curry, T.D., Cooper, F.L., Lind, N.M., Thach, C.L., Khalife, C., and Blakemore, J.D.* Quantifying the Lewis Acidity of Mono-, Di-, and Trivalent Cations in Anhydrous Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide Salts, Inorg. Chem. 2025, 64, 23920–23938, doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c03576.
Karnes, J.P, Oliver, A.G., Day, C.S., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Tunability in Heterobimetallic Complexes Featuring an Acyclic “Tiara” Polyether Motif, Inorg. Chem. 2025, 64, 571–593, doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c03352.
Mikeska, E.R., Wilson, R.E.,* Sen, A., Autschbach, J.,* and Blakemore, J.D.* Preparation of Neptunyl and Plutonyl Acetates to Access Non-Aqueous Transuranium Coordination Chemistry, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 21509–21524, doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c04613.
Golwankar, R.R., Ervin, A.C., Makos, M.Z., Mikeska, E.M., Glezakou, V.-A.,* and Blakemore, J.D.* Synthesis, Isolation, and Study of Heterobimetallic Uranyl-Crown Ether Complexes, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 9597–9604, doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c12075.
Nilles, C.K., Borkowski, A.K., Bartlett, E.R., Stalcup, M.A., Lee, H.-J., Leonard, K.C.,* Subramaniam, B.,* Thompson, W.H.,* and Blakemore, J.D.,* Mechanistic Basis of Conductivity in Carbon Dioxide-Expanded Electrolytes: A Joint Experimental-Theoretical Study, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2024, 146, 2398–2410, doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c08145.
Kumar, A., Lionetti, D., Day, V.W., and Blakemore, J.D.* Redox-Inactive Metal Cations Modulate the Reduction Potential of the Uranyl Ion in Macrocyclic Complexes, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2020, 142, 3032-3041, doi: 10.1021/jacs.9b11903.
Henke, W.C., Peng, Y., Meier, A.A., Fujita, E., Grills, D.C.,* Polyansky, D.E.,* and Blakemore, J.D.* Mechanistic Roles of Metal- and Ligand-Protonated Species in Hydrogen Evolution with [Cp*Rh] Complexes, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2023, 120, e2217189120 (9 pages), doi: 10.1073/pnas.2217189120.
Aguirre Quintana, L., Johnson, S.I., Corona, S.L., Villatoro, W., Goddard, W.A., III, Takase, M.K., VanderVelde, D.G., Winkler, J.R.,* Gray, H.B.,* Blakemore, J.D.*, Proton-Hydride Tautomerism in Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2016, 113, 6409-6414, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1606018113.
Awards & Honors —
International Excellence Fellowship, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
2025-2026
Grant Goodman Undergraduate Mentor Award
2023
K. Barbara Schowen Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
2021
DOE Early Career Award
2018
NSF EPSCoR Research Fellowship
2018
Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship, Caltech Resnick Sustainability Institute
2014-2015
Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSF CCI Solar Fuels
2012-2014
Richard Wolfgang Prize, Yale University
2012
Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students
2010
Service —
Prof. Blakemore currently serves as the Chair of the Safety Committee for the Department of Chemistry and co-leads the Gray-Little Hall Safety Committee. The joint committee builds collaborations between students, researchers, academic departments, the Office of Research, and the Department of Environmental, Health, and Safety. Prof. Blakemore also currently serves the on Appointments, Promotion and Tenure (CCAPT) committee for the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 2023, Prof. Blakemore was invited by Chancellor Girod to serve on the Ethics Subcommittee of the multicampus effort that ultimately led to the Reaffirmation of Accreditation of KU by the Higher Learning Commission.