Solid-State Reactions of Molecular Crystals

技术说明这个项目将探索发生在聚集体或分子晶体内部或表面的自然过程。为了了解这些过程，更重要的是，学习如何控制它们，最有成效的方法是研究晶体固体中的反应。这类反应对合成化学家来说也有很大的希望，因为它们中的许多都具有高度的选择性，可以得到通常从溶液过程中无法获得的非常高纯度的产品。拟议的研究将确定和开发在没有溶剂的情况下发生的有效的、新的、前所未有的反应。除了在研究中获得的新材料外，在这个环境友好的“绿色化学”领域中的反应承诺比它们的溶液对应的反应需要更少的能量，产生更少的废物。固态和材料化学(对称性、结晶学和反应)的初级教学正在通过一套互动的PowerPoint课程分发，其中一门课程已经在PI的网站上提供。为了建立坚实的教育基础并激励初出茅庐的科学家，该方法将在中学版本中实施，与当地高中教师合作，涵盖固态化学中的对称性和早期概念。对于美国科学家来说，要想在21世纪保持在化学和材料科学领域的领导地位，至关重要的是，当前和未来的几代人要得到尽可能好的技术指导。学员将接受材料的物理和合成方面以及环境友好化学方面的关键培训，并将有机会在培训期间通过NSF国际和马克斯·普朗克研究学校计划在国外工作。非技术性解释固态反应的研究为发现经历立体特定分子间转变的新材料类别提供了特殊的机会。在这些不寻常的过程中，结晶金属盐和有机材料被加热、紫外线或伽马射线处理，只产生了几种可能的化学上不同的异构体中的一种。除了为学生提供最先进的培训外，使用X射线结晶学、全产品表征、同位素标记、激光光化学和X射线形貌学的研究将产生对固体中分子间反应的几何、物理和化学机制的详细了解。总体而言，拟议的工作作为对“绿色”化学的贡献，有望产生新的、高效的无溶剂过程，并为理解这些过程是如何发生的提供了一个机械基础。此外，在PI的网站上还提供了一个基于PowerPoint的空间群对称性互动课程，这是固态化学的一个主要教学领域。与当地高中教师合作，新的学习方法将在中学版本中实施，涵盖固态化学中的对称性和初始概念。对于美国科学家来说，要在21世纪保持在化学和材料科学领域的领导地位，关键是当代和未来几代人得到尽可能好的技术指导。

TECHNICAL EXPLANATION This project will explore natural processes that take place within, or on the surface of, aggregates or molecular crystals. In order to understand these processes, and more importantly, to learn how to control them, the most fruitful approach is to study reactions in crystalline solids. Such reactions also hold considerable promise for the synthetic chemist, since many of them are highly selective, giving products of very high purity that are often not available from solution processes. The proposed research will identify and exploit efficient new, unprecedented reactions that occur in the absence of solvent. Beyond the new materials obtained in the research, reactions in this environmentally-friendly area of "Green Chemistry" promise to require less energy, and produce less waste, than their solution counterparts. Primary instruction in solid-state and materials chemistry (symmetry, crystallography and reactions) is being distributed through sets of interactive PowerPoint courses, one of which is already available on the PI's website. With a view to establishing a firm educational base and stimulation for budding scientists, the approach will be implemented in a secondary school version, covering symmetry and early concepts in solid-state chemistry, in collaboration with local high school teachers. For US scientists to sustain a leadership role in chemistry and materials science in the 21st century, it is critical that the current and coming generations receive the best possible technical instruction. Participants will receive key training in the physical and synthetic aspects of materials and environmentally-benign chemistry, and will have the opportunity to work abroad during their training period through NSF International and Max Planck Research School programs.NON-TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONStudies of solid-state reactions offer exceptional opportunities for the discovery of new classes of materials that undergo stereospecific intermolecular transformations. In these unusual processes, where crystalline metal salts and organic materials are treated with heat, UV or gamma-rays, only one out of several possible chemically distinct isomers is produced. In addition to providing state-of-the-art training for students, studies using X-ray crystallography, full product characterization, isotopic labeling, laser photochemistry and X-ray topography will yield a detailed understanding of the geometrical, physical and chemical mechanisms of intermolecular reactions in solids. Overall, the proposed work, as a contribution to "Green" chemistry, promises to yield new, efficient solventless processes, as well as providing a mechanistic basis for understanding how those processes occur. In addition, an interactive PowerPoint-based course in Space Group Symmetry, a primary area of instruction in solid-state chemistry, is available from the PI's website. The novel learning approaches will be implemented in a secondary school version, covering symmetry and beginning concepts in solid-state chemistry, in collaboration with local high school teachers. For U.S. scientists to sustain a leadership role in chemistry and materials science in the 21st century, it is critical that the current and coming generations receive the best possible technical instruction.