James P. Collman (born 1932 in Beatrice, Nebraska) is an American Professor of Chemistry. He is currently serving at Stanford University in California.
Collman is considered a pioneer in bioinorganic and biomimetic chemistry. He developed a clearer understanding of the mechanisms of biological proteins, by studying synthetic analogs of biological systems which contain metal and metalloid atoms. His work on hemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochrome c oxidase allowed subsequent researchers to understand how the protein-metal interactions allow these molecules to function.[1]
Collman received B.S. (1954) and M.S. degrees (1956) in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1958 under Reynold C. Fuson.
Upon receiving his Ph. D., Collman joined the faculty of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, remaining there until 1967, when he moved to Stanford University. He currently holds the George & Hilda M. Daubert Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Stanford.
Collman has contributed to several aspects of transition metal chemistry. He has authored 3 books and over 366 scientific papers.
In the 1960s his group demonstrated that certain metal acetylacetonates undergo Friedel-Crafts-like reactions, indicating that these chelate rings have aromatic character. Through reviews as well as original research, his group popularized the oxidative addition reaction, leading to the discovery of new low-valent complexes including Ru(CO)3(PPh3)2 and IrCl(N2)(PPh3)2. Collman's reagent, Na2Fe(CO)4, prepared in his laboratories, enables certain C-C coupling reactions in organic synthesis. He popularized the use of tetraphenylporphyrin as a biomimetic ligand for exploring the structure and function of myoglobin, cytochrome P450, and cytochrome oxidase.
Collman has advised many academic researchers, many of whom have gone on to notable careers, such as Karl Barry Sharpless and Robert H. Grubbs who both did postdoctoral work at Stanford with Collman and later received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.