Reactions of Transition Metal Perfluoroalkyl and Perfluoroalkylidene Complexes

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这个无机、生物无机和有机金属化学项目的研究奖支持达特茅斯学院的Russell P. Hughes教授对过渡金属的全氟烷基和全氟烷基化合物的化学进行基础研究。氟碳化合物是含有碳氟键的分子，在人类生活中发挥着重要作用：许多药物分子和农用化学品都含有这类化学键。由氟化化学品制成的新技术重要材料包括汽车软管和垫圈、重建手术材料和燃料电池膜。这些氟碳化合物的积极社会作用被其他有害环境影响所抵消；大气中挥发性氯氟烃（CFCs）造成了臭氧消耗和全球变暖，现已被《蒙特利尔议定书》所禁止。替代分子不含对环境有害的氯原子，对于未来的制冷剂、气溶胶、发泡剂和半导体清洁溶剂等应用至关重要。这个项目增加了对过渡金属中心如何完成两个重要的基本过程的理解：打破碳氟键，形成新的碳氢键，以获得新的环保分子；并正在产生变革的方法和氟碳化合物的新反应，从而导致新的有机转变和新的技术上有用的材料。该项目对人类的广泛影响继续在培养博士后、研究生和本科生，其中许多人继续进行高级化学研究并在科学领域就业。各个层次的学生都在接受书面和口头交流的教育，接受指导初级小组同事的培训，并为他们提供了丰富的参与式学习机会，这增加了他们对化学的兴趣和知识。学生们正在接受向广大受众传播科学概念的培训，并在我们地区（新罕布什尔州克莱蒙特和佛蒙特州温莎）农村学校举办的青少年科学咖啡馆中展示他们的研究及其社会相关性，其中包括许多经济上处于不利地位的学生。在拓展活动中，在新罕布什尔科学教师协会的年度会议上，非正式的和信息丰富的谈话讨论了我们农村地区的中学教师跟上并认识到这些和其他化学研究领域的新发展的实际和社会影响的能力。这项基础研究将通过产生新的合成和催化方案为社会带来未来的利益，这些方案将为技术上有用的分子提供节能途径，这些分子不会引起诸如全球变暖和臭氧消耗等大气环境问题。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This Research award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic andOrganometallic Chemistry program supports work by Professor Russell P. Hughes at Dartmouth College to carry out fundamental studies on the chemistry of perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkylidene compounds of transition metals.Fluorocarbons are molecules containing carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds, and play significant roles in the lives of human beings: many pharmaceutical drug molecules and agrochemicals contain these kinds of chemical linkages. New technologically important materials made from fluorinated chemicals include automotive hoses and gaskets, materials for reconstructive surgery, and fuel cell membranes. Positive societal roles of these fluorocarbons are offset by deleterious environmental effects of others; volatile chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere have contributed to ozone depletion and global warming, and are now banned under the Montreal Protocol. Replacement molecules, which contain no environmentally harmful chlorine atoms, are crucially important for future applications as refrigerants, aerosols, foaming agents, and semiconductor cleaning solvents. This project is increasing understanding of how transition metal centers metal centers accomplish two important fundamental processes: breaking carbon-fluorine bonds coupled with making new carbon-hydrogen bonds to give new environmentally benign molecules; and is generating transformational methodology and new reactions of fluorocarbons that are leading to new organic transformations and new technologically useful materials.Broad human impact of this project continues in training of postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students, many of whom are continuing to advanced chemistry studies and employment in science. Students at all levels are being educated in written and oral communication, trained in mentoring their junior group colleagues, and are being provided with rich opportunities for engaged learning, which is increasing their interest and knowledge in chemistry. Students are being trained in communicating scientific concepts to broad audiences, and are presenting their research and its societal relevance in Junior Science Cafes held in rural schools in our region (Claremont NH and Windsor VT) that include many economically disadvantaged students. In outreach activities, the capacity of secondary school teachers in our rural region to stay abreast of, and recognize the practical and societal impacts of, new developments in these and other chemistry research areas is being addressed by informal and informative talks at annual meetings of the New Hampshire Science Teachers Association. This basic research will have future benefits to society by generating new synthetic and catalytic schemes that will provide energy efficient routes to technologically useful molecules, which do not cause atmospheric environmental problems such as global warming and ozone depletion.