RUI: Developing Acetylene-Activated SNAr Reactions

科尔比学院的Jeffrey L. Katz教授获得了化学结构、动力学和机制项目的RUI奖，他将研究合成强大的碳-碳三键与经典有机转化——亲核芳香取代（SNAr）反应的合并。卡茨小组已经发现乙基足以激活氟苯向亲核取代。这种乙炔激活的SNAr反应将在三个方面进行。首先，通过动力学测量和反应范围实验，Katz实验室的学生将研究乙炔官能团在芳香取代过程中的电子性质。其次，乙炔活化SNAr化学将用于复杂杂环和杂环芳基取代发光基团的快速合成。最后，将乙炔取代SNAr反应应用于草杯[4]芳烃大环的合成，并将形成的含乙炔基团的草杯[4]芳烃作为一类新的双功能分子受体进行研究。该RUI奖还将支持与卡茨教授一起工作的学生，作为科尔比学院化学专业少数族裔学生研究指导计划的一部分。卡茨教授是科尔比研究学者项目（Colby Research Scholars， CRS）的创始人和主任，该项目是一个学年性项目，旨在让少数族裔学生从大一开始就与教师一起从事科学领域的独立研究项目。卡茨教授还担任科尔比科学成就项目（CAPS）的联合主任，这是一个面向来自代表性不足背景的一年级新生的夏季桥梁项目。同时，这些项目寻求招募和留住少数民族学生进入化学和其他科学学科。参加卡茨实验室CRS和CAPS项目的学生将在拟议的研究中发挥积极作用，参加研究小组会议，参加当地和国家会议并展示海报，并与其他学生科学家进行学术和社会互动。

With an RUI Award from the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program, Professor Jeffrey L. Katz of Colby College will research the merging of the synthetically powerful carbon-carbon triple bond, with a classic organic transformation, the nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reaction. The Katz group has found ethynyl groups to be sufficient for activating fluorobenzenes toward nucleophilic substitution. Such acetylene-activated SNAr reactions will be pursued in three areas. First, through kinetics measurements and experiments of reaction scope, students in the Katz laboratory will study the electronic nature of acetylene functional groups with respect to aromatic substitution processes. Second, acetylene-activated SNAr chemistry will be exploited for the rapid synthesis of complex heterocycles, and heterocyclic arylethynyl-substituted luminophores. Finally, acetylene-substituted SNAr reactions will be applied to the synthesis of oxacalix[4]arene macrocycles, and the formed oxacalix[4]arenes bearing acetylene groups will be studied as a new class of bifunctional molecular receptors.This RUI award will also support students working with Professor Katz as part of a research-based mentoring program for underrepresented minority students in chemistry at Colby College. Professor Katz is the creator and Director of the Colby Research Scholars (CRS) Program, an academic-year program for minority students to pursue independent research projects with faculty in the sciences as early as their freshman year. Professor Katz also serves as co-Director of the Colby Achievement Program in the Sciences (CAPS), a summer bridge program for entering first-year students from underrepresented backgrounds. In conjunction, these programs seek to recruit and retain minority students into chemistry and other scientific disciplines. Students participating in the CRS and CAPS programs in the Katz laboratory will have active roles in the proposed research, participate in research group meetings, attend and present posters at local and national meetings, and interact academically and socially with other student-scientists.