Exploration of Ozonolysis in Multiple Media

通过这个奖项，有机和高分子化学项目支持卡内基-梅隆大学的尼尔·M·多纳休教授的工作。本研究将探索气相和冷表面上控制不饱和碳氢化合物与臭氧臭氧化反应的基本反应动力学。当臭氧与烯烃双键反应形成的初级臭氧化合物断裂时，控制哪些键断裂的因素将被确定，以及控制所产生反应产物的确切结构的因素将被确定。通过将计算研究与多阶段的实验动力学相结合，这项研究将分离出可能控制臭氧-烯烃反应化学行为的因素。通过研究环烯烃和非环烯烃，环烯烃和非环烯烃都将揭示碰撞能量转移的细节和反应碎片之间的能量分布。在这项研究的更广泛的影响中，这项研究对了解空气污染的影响。臭氧分解是城市和区域大气化学中产生大量自由基的原因；因此，它在光化学烟雾的形成中起着核心作用。它也是超细有机气溶胶的主要来源，而超细有机气溶胶对健康有重大危害。因此，了解臭氧分解的机理细节对于制定城市空气质量控制策略至关重要。臭氧侵入建筑物并与各种家用和工业溶剂发生反应时产生的气溶胶也是一个重大的公共卫生问题。这些问题将成为围绕适合公共和本科教育的臭氧分解示范的课程发展的基石。同样重要的是，在一个基础化学研究将对公众相当关注的问题产生重大影响的领域对年轻科学家进行培训。

With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Neil M. Donahue of Carnegie-Mellon University. This research will probe the basic reaction dynamics controlling ozonolysis reactions between unsaturated hydrocarbons and ozone in the gas phase and on cold surfaces. The factors which control which bonds break when the primary ozonide, formed when ozone reacts with alkene double bonds, breaks up and what controls the exact structure of the resulting reaction products will be determined. By combining computational studies with experimental kinetics in multiple phases, the research will isolate factors potentially responsible for governing the chemical behavior of ozone-alkene reactions. By studying both cycloalkenes, where the reaction products are tethered and the reaction energy thus resides entirely in a single fragment, and non-cyclic alkenes, which yield two fragments that each possess a distribution of energies, the research will reveal details of collisional energy transfer and the energy distribution among the reaction fragments.Among the broader impacts of this research is its impact in learning about air pollution. Ozonolysis is responsible for significant radical production in urban and regional atmospheric chemistry; it thus plays a central role in photochemical smog formation. It is also a major source of ultrafine organic aerosols, which are a significant health hazard. Consequently, understanding the mechanistic details of ozonolysis is vital to developing control strategies for urban air quality. Aerosol generation initiated when ozone invades buildings and reacts with various household and industrial solvents is also a significant public health concern. These issues will serve as a cornerstone for curricular development revolving around an ozonolysis demonstration suitable for both public and undergraduate education. Also important is the training of young scientists in an area where basic fundamental chemical studies will have a significant impact on a problem of considerable concern to the public.