US-Federal Republic of Germany Cooperative Research: Molecular Basis for Nickel Catalysis in Organic Chemistry

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This award supports Dr. John J. Eisch of the Chemistry Department, SUNY at Binghamton, for collaboration in research with Dr. Carl Krueger of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, FRG. They are studying how nickel is able to catalyze chemical reactions in hydrocarbons. By measuring both the speed of certain well defined catalytic nickel compounds and the variations in their molecular structure, they hope to identify what features in the nickel catalyst structure have an accelerating or retarding influence on the speed of the hydrocarbon reactions it helps to catalyze. The German laboratory offers highly sophisticated facilities for structure determination, especially electron density maps, and for molecular calculations. The U.S. group has much experience in the kinetics of organometallic reactions and the detection of catalytic intermediates. The catalytic action of transition metals, such as nickel and iron, on unsaturated hydrocarbons has been found to lead to a versatile array of valuable organic chemicals. However, little is known about how transition metals are able to effect these extraordinary chemical reactions on a molecular basis. This research should provide a rational basis for predicting catalytic activity of nickel compounds.