CAREER: SusChEM: Iron Catalysts for the Reduction of Amides

在这个由化学系化学合成计划资助的项目中，德克萨斯理工大学化学系的迈克尔·芬德莱特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。化学催化被用于生产制药、建筑、通信和食品行业的许多商品化学品，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的稀有金属元素。这些稀有金属目前在催化化学中提供了关键的需求。为了迎接这一挑战，人们正在设计和合成基于毒性较低和富含稀土元素的新型催化剂，以取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涉及开发专注于催化的旅行实验室。这些实验室的设计是为了便于携带，以便运送到农村地区的高中；让学生有机会学习催化作用。本项目的重点是基于铁二亚胺络合物的新型环境友好型催化剂，以及对铁催化中各种作用机理的研究。人们正在研究各种催化剂的结构，其中最有希望的结构正在利用X射线结晶学、顺磁核磁共振光谱、穆斯堡尔光谱和详细的动力学分析进行进一步研究。这项工作的更广泛影响包括从毒性较低、富含稀土的金属中发现催化剂的潜在社会效益，以及对第一排过渡金属反应化学的新见解。

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.