Kinetics and Mechanisms: Oxidation Mechanisms of Some Selected Sulfur Compounds

Reuben Simoyi博士，西弗吉尼亚大学化学系，由化学系无机、生物无机和有机金属项目支持，研究硫化合物的氧化机制。Simoyi博士将研究选定的硫化合物的氧化动力学和机制，包括硫脲、亚磺酸、磺酸、硫化物和二甲基硫化物。生物相关含硫化合物包括牛磺酸、半胱氨酸、异硫酸、蛋氨酸和谷胱甘肽的氧化也将被研究。最终目标是更完整地描述涉及硫化合物的化学振荡子，并了解这些化合物的模式形成和对称破坏分岔。将利用诸如停止和连续流动法、弛豫光谱、浊度法、EPR和NMR等技术。这些系统与了解环境污染中的硫减排程序有关，氨基酸研究可能为其生理重要性提供基本见解。硫在元素周期表中是一种独特的元素，因为它可以以多种不同的氧化态出现（从-2到+6），因此它与金属、非金属和有机化合物都很活泼。这些特征引起了与硫氧化物有关的环境问题，硫氧化物本身是可引起酸雨的主要大气污染物。这些和其他含硫化合物的详细反应性，特别是那些具有环境和生物意义的化合物，还没有得到很好的了解。这个项目将有助于阐明这些硫化合物观察到的不寻常的反应模式，从而有助于更广泛地了解它们在这些重要领域的作用。

Dr. Reuben Simoyi, Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program of the Chemistry Division for studies of the oxidation mechanisms of sulfur compounds. Dr. Simoyi will study the kinetics and mechanisms of oxidation of selected sulfur compounds including thioureas, sulfinic acids, sulfonic acids, sulfide, and dimethyl sulfide. Oxidation of biologically relevant sulfur containing compounds including taurine, cysteine, isethionic acid, methionine and glutathione will also be investigated. The ultimate goal is a more complete description of chemical oscillators involving sulfur compounds, and an understanding of the pattern formation and symmetry-breaking bifurcations of these compounds. Techniques such as stopped and continuous flow methods, relaxation spectra, turbidimetry, EPR and NMR will be utilized. These systems are relevant to an understanding of sulfur abatement procedures in environmental pollution, and the amino acid studies may provide fundamental insights into their physiological importance. Sulfur is a unique element in the periodic table because it can occur in widely varying oxidation states (from -2 to +6), and it is thus quite reactive with metals, nonmetals and with organic compounds. These characteristics contribute to the environmental concerns associated with oxides of sulfur, which themselves are major atmospheric pollutants which can cause acid rain. The detailed reactivity of these and other sulfur compounds, especially those with environmental and biological significance, is not well understood. This project will help to elucidate the unusual reactivity patterns observed for these sulfur compounds, and will thus contribute to a broader understanding of their role in these important areas.