New Organometallic Radical-Cation Based Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Reactions and Materials

摘要NSF 0808909：佛蒙特大学，威廉盖革（PI），由国家科学基金会的分析和表面科学计划的支持知识摘要：电化学是最通用的工具之一，提供给执业化学家。两个最重要的应用领域是分析和催化。其中第一个涉及分子的识别和定量，对于解决环境，生物和医学问题的广泛需求至关重要。拟议的工作旨在开发一个新的分析“传感器”的基础上标记的分析目标与“标记”，可以打开和关闭相当于一个电气开关的想法。这种新的标记物来源于一种容易制备的锰络合物，它可以在佛蒙特大学（UVM）以前开发的电解质介质中可逆地转换。另一个主要的研究领域是开发低能耗和更绿色的方法来利用简单的烯烃，这是基于油的有机结构单元，在制备合成化学家通常使用的理想有机化合物。将开发和评估一种高效的电化学方法，其目标是用能够电催化所需反应的有机金属络合物取代浪费能量的热和光化学方法。更广泛的影响：就研究结果而言，所提出的工作的成功结果有望扩大有机金属电化学作为化学家和生物化学家解决问题的方法的影响。同样重要的是，化学家们要问，他们的努力如何有助于提高这个国家和我们世界能源使用效率的艰巨任务。只有四种重要的一般能源供我们使用：核能、热能、光能和电能。我们的目标一直是，并将继续是，培训电化学家，以发展在这四个领域的最后一个进步。在电化学培训的研究生在UVM受雇于各种学术，工业和政府研究职位。因为它是重要的是扩大这些机会，以代表性不足的群体，该项目将提供暑期培训项目，以经济困难的高中学生通过项目种子（由美国化学学会监督），并启动一个试点项目，提供了一个夏季研究机会在UVM的代表性不足的本科生从城市为基础的大学有一个大的少数民族招生。 由于他们在一个由高度积极的研究生和博士后组成的研究小组中的经验，高中和访问本科生将更加了解他们在研究生前和研究生高等教育中的机会，从而增加他们成为科学专业人士的可能性。

Abstract of NSF 0808909: University of Vermont, William Geiger (PI), supported by the Analytical and Surface Science Program of the National Science FoundationIntellectual Summary: Electrochemistry is one of the most versatile tools available to the practicing chemist. Two of the most important areas of applications are in analysis and catalysis. The first of these deals with the identification and quantification of molecules and is critically important to a wide range of needs addressing environmental, biological, and medical problems. The proposed work seeks to develop a new family of analytical 'sensors' based on the idea of labeling the analytical target with a 'marker' that can be turned on and off by the equivalent of an electrical switch. The new marker is derived from an easily prepared manganese complex which can be reversibly switched in an electrolyte medium previously developed at the University of Vermont (UVM). The other major area of inquiry is intended to develop lower-energy and greener ways to utilize simple olefins, which are oil-based organic building blocks, in the preparation of desirable organic compounds that will be of general use to synthetic chemists. A highly efficient electrochemical method will be developed and evaluated with the goal of replacing energy-wasting thermal and photochemical methods by an organometallic rhenium complex which is capable of electro-catalyzing the desired reactions. Broader Impact: In terms of the research results, a successful outcome to the proposed work is expected to broaden the impact of organometallic electrochemistry as a problem-solving method among chemists and biochemists. It is also important for chemists to ask how their efforts might contribute to the daunting task of increasing the efficiency of energy usage in this country and in our world. There are only four important general energy sources at our disposal: nuclear, heat, light, and electricity. Our goal has been, and continues to be, the training of electrochemists to develop advances in the last of these four areas. Graduate students trained in electrochemistry at UVM are employed in a variety of academic, industrial, and government research positions. Because it is important to expand these opportunities to underrepresented groups, this project will offer summer training projects to financially disadvantaged high school students through Project Seed (overseen by the American Chemical Society) and initiate a pilot project which offers a summer research opportunity at UVM to underrepresented undergraduate students from a city-based college having a large minority enrollment. Thanks to their experience in a research group composed of highly-motivated graduate students and postdocs, the high school and visiting undergraduate students will be more aware of their opportunities in pre- and post-graduate higher education, thereby increasing the probability that they will become scientific professionals.