The Organic Chemistry of Silicon in Small and Large Molecules

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

With this renewal award the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program continues its support for the work of Professor Joseph B. Lambert of the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston IL. The research will extend the PI's work on the organic chemistry of compounds that contain silicon and other main group elements. Silicon, which is just below carbon in the periodic table, conveys novel properties when replacing carbon. The primary goals of the research are to prepare new molecules with interesting and useful properties. New and unusual organic cations centered on main group elements will be synthesized and their stability evaluated. A series of organosilicon reactions will produce dendrimers of nanodimensions, whose surface is covered with organic hosts that can bind to metal cations and serve as novel catalysts. The ability of fundamental organic molecules of biological interest to react with silicic acid will be investigated with the goal of establishing links between the inorganic and bioorganic worlds with implications in prebiotic chemistry. A diverse, multiracial group that includes students from underrepresented minorities will carry out this research. The research will not only educate those involved in the projects but also undergraduates and the general public though educational activities, books, and lectures. This research is expected to have broad positive impact in the areas of catalysis, industrial separations and purification, environmental remediation, and drug delivery.