CAREER: Synthesis and Fundamental Organometallic Reactivity of Low-Valent Uranium Alkyls

有了这个职业奖，化学合成项目支持了普渡大学苏珊娜·巴特教授的研究。在这个项目中，Bart教授将重点研究用于小分子活化的还原铀配合物的合成、表征和反应性。计划中的研究将验证低价铀烷基是难以捉摸的铀目标有用的合成子的假设。实验将进行1)获得一个具有各种辅助配体的铀（III）烷基家族，2)了解在什么条件下铀可以经历两个电子过程，类似于晚期过渡金属，包括还原消除，氧化加成和迁移插入，3)探索铀烷基在多键形成中的作用。计划中的研究包括合成方法、光谱分析和计算方法，以充分了解这些化合物的反应性。在教育计划方面，苏珊娜·巴特教授将继续并扩大她的倡议，通过她的化学青少年会议（以前的“校园女生高中日”）增加大学年龄理科专业的女性人数。通过这个项目，大三和大四的女学生被邀请与普渡大学化学科学领域的顶尖女教师互动，了解职业、大学专业以及科学职业生涯的好处和挑战。在这个活动中，参与者还可以与当前的本科生和研究生建立联系，他们可以作为导师，并在参与者开始他们的大学生涯时消除对科学专业的恐惧。巴特教授还将参加一个针对印第安纳州高中教师的项目。通过这个项目，高中教师可以在巴特教授的实验室里表演和录制那些在他们自己的教室里不可能完成的演示。这些证明有助于突出稀土和锕系元素的重要性。

With this CAREER Award, the Chemistry Synthesis program is supporting the research of Professor Suzanne Bart at Purdue University. In this project, Professor Bart will focus on the synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of reduced uranium complexes for small molecule activation. The planned research will test the hypothesis that low-valent uranium alkyls are useful synthons for elusive uranium targets. Experiments will be carried out to 1) obtain a family of uranium(III) alkyls with a variety of ancillary ligands, 2) understand under what conditions uranium can undergo two electron processes, similar to late transition metals, including reductive elimination, oxidative addition, and migratory insertion, 3) explore the utility of uranium alkyls for multiple bond formation. The planned research includes synthetic methods, spectroscopic analysis, and computational approaches to fully understand the reactivity of these compounds.In terms of the educational plan, Professor Suzanne Bart will continue and expand her initiative to increase the population of women among college age science majors with her ChemTeens conference (formerly "High School Day on Campus for Girls"). Through this program, junior and senior female students are invited to interact with leading female faculty in the chemical sciences at Purdue to learn about careers, college majors, and the benefits and challenges of a career in the sciences. At this event, participants also make connections with current undergraduate and graduate students who can serve as mentors and take the intimidation out of a major in science as the participants begin their college careers. Professor Bart will also participate in a program aimed at high school teachers in Indiana. Through this program, the high school teachers could perform and videotape in Professor Bart's laboratory those demonstrations not possible in their own classrooms. These demonstrations help to highlight the importance of rare earth and actinide elements.