Electronics and Reactivity in Carbenes, Bis-Carbenes, and Related Reactive Intermediates

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This research project studies the generation and investigation of a variety of new organic reactive intermediates centered around carbenes and nitrenes. For instance, heteroaryl substituted carbenes are described that promise unconventional electronic properties. They also offer the possibility for unusual rearrangements to other previously uncharacterized reactive intermediates. The proposed systems will be investigated primarily by low-temperature matrix isolation methods, probed by IR and UV/vis spectroscopy. Characterization will be aided by DFT and ab initio electronic structure modeling.With this Award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program (Organic Dynamics) supports the research of Professor Robert S. Sheridan of the University of Nevada Reno. Professor Sheridan studies reactive molecules called carbenes and nitrenes, which have fewer than the usual number of chemical bonds and unusual electronic structures. Carbenes, for example, have been implicated in such diverse settings as interstellar chemistry, combustion, soot formation, and fullerene production. The high reactivity of carbenes and nitrenes have proven of value in photoaffinity labelling of biological molecules, and their interesting electronic properties are of interest in the quest for organic magnetic materials.