CAREER: Carbon-Carbon Single Bond Activation - Mechanistic Comparisons and Reaction Development

在这个由化学部化学催化项目资助的CAREER奖中，霍普学院化学系的Jeffrey B. Johnson教授将对过渡金属催化剂活化碳-碳单键的过程进行机理研究。所提出的研究将从三个已知过渡金属催化的C-C键活化反应的详细机理分析开始。从这些研究中收集的数据将深入了解影响C-C单键活化的因素，揭示机理途径和催化中间体，并随后指导更通用和更强大的反应方法的发展。虽然C-C单键在有机化学中无处不在，但这种化学部分通常被认为是惰性的——很少有反应选择性地切割和功能化C-C键。新方法有望为生物活性分子、天然产物和药物化合物的构建提供新的范式。在本科院校开展拟议的研究将涉及本科生作为工作各方面的唯一研究人员。这些学生将有机会扩展他们的课堂经验，探索新的学科，如有机金属化学、催化、动力学和机械研究，同时也培养在任何领域取得成功所需的技能。该项目还支持与希望大学向上发展计划的合作，该计划帮助有风险的高中生为大学做准备，从而促进STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）领域的多样性改善。

In this CAREER award funded by the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Jeffrey B. Johnson of the Department of Chemistry at Hope College will pursue a mechanistic understanding of the process of carbon-carbon single bond activation by transition metal catalysts. The proposed research will begin with the detailed mechanistic analysis of three known transition metal-catalyzed C-C bond activation reactions. Data compiled from these studies will provide insight into factors that influence the activation of C-C single bonds, reveal mechanistic pathways and catalytic intermediates, and subsequently guide the development of more general and powerful reaction methodologies. Although C-C single bonds are ubiquitous within organic chemistry, this chemical moiety is generally considered inert - few reactions selectively cleave and functionalize C-C bonds. New methods hold the promise of a new paradigm that may have profound implication for the construction of biologically active molecules, natural products and pharmaceutical compounds. Carrying out the proposed research at an undergraduate institution will involve undergraduate students as the sole researchers on all facets of the work. These students will have the opportunity to extend their classroom experiences and explore new subjects such as organometallic chemistry, catalysis, and kinetic and mechanistic studies, while also developing skills required for success in any field. This project also supports a collaboration with the Hope College Upward Bound Program, a program that assists at-risk high school students prepare for college and thus promotes the improvement of diversity within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.