SusChEM: CAREER: The development of cobalt(I) catalysts featuring strong-field ligands for C-X bond formation.

在这个由化学系化学催化计划资助的项目中，伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的艾莉森·富特教授正在开发新的富含地球的钴催化剂，能够调节各种类型的键形成化学。该项目的目标是可持续的、生物相容的、富含地球的催化剂，以产生目前由更昂贵和更有毒的贵金属制成的产品，如钯、铂和铱。用富含稀土的催化剂简单地替换贵金属催化剂并非易事，因此人们正在开发改变金属中心周围化学环境的方法，以促进所需的催化作用。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括开发基于富含地球的金属的重要精细化学合成的催化剂，在一个重要的技术研究领域培训研究科学家，以及为小学生建立接触科学实验的基础活动。由于防止第一行过渡金属上的单电子转移或自由基化学的困难性质，正在开发一种氧化能力强的配体系统来稳定低价的晚期第一行过渡金属配合物。这项研究以一组根本重要的过渡金属配合物为特色，以介导有机催化，涉及从化学合成、光谱分析到催化等各种活动，为培训来自不同教育背景的未来科学家提供了一个极好的载体。富特教授开发的一个推广项目正在为经济困难的小学和初中学生建立基础，让他们能够接触到科学实验，并评估对科学的兴趣如何随着年龄的变化而变化。这项工作的更广泛影响包括使用可持续的、富含地球的催化剂来合成重要的有机络合物的好处。

In this project funded by the Chemical Catalysis program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Alison Fout of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing new earth-abundant cobalt catalysts capable of mediating various types of bond formation chemistry. This project targets sustainable, biocompatible earth-abundant catalysts to generate products currently made by the more expensive and toxic, Noble metals, such as palladium, platinum and iridium. Simple replacement of the Noble metal catalysts with their earth-abundant counterparts is not straightforward, so methods are being developed to change the chemical environment about the metal center in order to promote the desired catalysis. The broader impacts of the research involve developing catalysts for important fine chemical synthesis based upon earth-abundant metals, training research scientists in a technologically important area of research, and building foundational activities for primary school students to gain exposure to science experiments.Due to the difficult nature of preventing single-electron transfer or radical chemistry on first-row transition metals, an oxidatively-robust ligand system is being developed to stabilize low-valent late first-row transition metal complexes. This study features a fundamentally important group of transition metal complexes to mediate organic catalysis involving activities ranging from chemical synthesis, spectroscopic analysis to catalysis, providing an excellent vehicle to train future scientists from various educational backgrounds. An outreach program developed by Professor Fout is building the foundation for economically disadvantaged elementary and junior high students to gain exposure to science experiments and to assess how the interest in science changes as a function of age. The broader impacts of this work include the benefits of using sustainable, earth-abundant catalysts for the synthesis of important organic complexes.