CAREER: SusChEM: Iron Catalysts for the Reduction of Amides

在这个由化学学部化学合成项目资助的项目中，德克萨斯理工大学化学系的Michael Findlater教授正在开发基于地球上丰富的过渡金属的可持续催化剂。化学催化用于制药、建筑、通信和食品行业生产许多商品化学品，因此是美国经济的基本经济驱动力。然而，许多最重要的催化转化依赖于昂贵和稀有的金属元素。这些稀有金属目前在催化化学中提供了一个关键的需求。为了应对这一挑战，人们正在设计和合成基于毒性较低和富土元素的新型催化剂，以替代目前使用的贵金属元素。芬德莱特教授开发的一项外展计划包括发展以催化为重点的旅行实验室。这些实验室的设计便于携带，以便运送到农村地区的高中；让学生有机会学习催化作用。本项目重点研究以铁的二亚胺配合物为基础的新型环境友好型催化剂，并研究铁催化的各种机制。目前正在研究各种催化剂结构，并利用x射线晶体学、顺磁核磁共振波谱学、Mössbauer波谱学和详细的动力学分析进一步研究最有前途的催化剂结构。这项工作的更广泛的影响包括潜在的社会效益，从毒性更低、富含地球的金属中发现催化剂，以及对第一行过渡金属的反应化学的新见解。

In this project funded by the Chemical Synthesis program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Michael Findlater of the Department of Chemistry at Texas Tech University is developing sustainable catalysts based upon the earth abundant transition metals. Chemical catalysis is used to produce many commodity chemicals in the pharmaceutical, construction, communication and food industries and thus, is a fundamental economic driver for the U.S. economy. However, many of the most importance catalytic transformations rely on expensive and rare metal elements. These rare metals currently provide a critical need in catalytic chemistry. To meet this challenge, new catalysts based on less toxic and earth abundant elements are being designed and synthesized as replacements for the precious metal elements currently in use. An outreach program developed by Professor Findlater involves the development of traveling Labs which focus on catalysis. The labs are designed for portability to allow transport to rural area high schools; allowing the students the means to learn about catalysis. This project focuses on new environmentally benign catalysts based on diimine complexes of iron, as well as the study of the varied mechanisms at play in iron catalysis. Various catalyst structures are being examined, and the most promising ones are being studied further using X-ray crystallography, paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and detailed kinetic analyses. The broader impacts of this work include potential societal benefits from the discovery of catalysts from less toxic, earth abundant metals and new insight into the reaction chemistry of first-row transition metals.