Surface Properties and Chemical Behavior of Alumina

该奖项由有机动力学计划颁发，将支持Paul Kropp博士在有机反应中处理氧化铝表面性质和化学行为的研究。机理和合成方面都将进行研究，并与先前使用二氧化硅的结果进行比较。将研究的反应包括烷基卤化物的脱氢卤化，醛的Cannizzaro氧化还原，环氧化物的重排以及烯烃的HNCS加成。结构反应性和立体化学都将被探讨。表面氧化物和铝分别用酸和吡啶淬火表征，用红外光谱、拉曼光谱和ESR技术观察。除了对氧化铝在有机反应中的作用提供机理见解外，这项研究还将导致新的合成有用的方法，这些方法由于易于回收的固体催化剂，对环境无害。

This award, made in the Organic Dynamics Program will support the research of Dr. Paul Kropp dealing with the surface properties and chemical behavior of alumina in the context of mediating organic reactions. Both mechanistic and synthetic aspects will be investigated and compared with earlier results using silica. Reactions that will be studied include dehydrohalogenation of alkyl halides, Cannizzaro oxidation-reduction of aldehydes, rearrangement of epoxides, and addition of HNCS to alkenes. Both structure-reactivity and stereochemistry will be probed. Surface oxide and aluminum sites will be characterized by quenching with acid and pyridine respectively, and observed by IR, Raman and ESR techniques. In addition to providing mechanistic insights into the role of alumina in mediating organic reactions, this research will lead to new synthetically useful methodologies which, by virtue of easily recovered solid catalysts, are environmentally benign.