SusChEM: Earth Abundant Metal-Organic Frameworks for Heterogeneous Visible-Light Organic Photoredox Catalysis

中佛罗里达大学的Uribe-Romo教授和Yuan教授的合作研究团队正在设计和创造新的催化剂，利用阳光合成药物等有机化学品。 这些催化剂还含有地球上丰富的元素，易于回收和再利用，因此是可持续的。 因此，它们是依赖稀有和昂贵金属的传统催化剂的潜在替代品。这些催化剂联合收割机将一类称为金属有机骨架（MOF）的材料的三维结构特征与具有高光吸收能力的分子基团相结合。MOF是高度多孔的结构，并且这种组合允许在MOF孔内以上级速率进行形状选择性的光驱动催化。该研究团队强调本科生参与研究，并通过系列研讨会和科学演讲工作坊等外联活动，吸引STEM领域代表性不足的学生参与。利用阳光作为有机化合物合成的驱动力是光氧化还原催化领域的重点。这一领域为合成复杂的有机化合物（如天然产物和药物）提供了一个有前途的替代方案，因为可见光是免费的，容易获得的，并且可以增加反应所需的能量，以可持续的方式进行。中佛罗里达大学的Uribe-Romo教授和Yuan教授的合作研究小组正在设计和创造新的催化剂，利用阳光合成有机化学品。这些催化剂是由丰富、廉价和可重复使用的元素（例如，钛和锆）和有机结构单元，其能够收集特定能量的光并促进催化剂和基底之间的电子转移。这项工作是耦合理论，固态合成和有机化学，用于制备和调整MOF催化剂，以调整其光吸收能力，以及其内部孔结构，以实现在溶液中观察具有挑战性的化学转化途径。这项工作还包括通过系列研讨会和科学公开演讲研讨会，鼓励本科生积极参与研究和外联活动，以及来自STEM代表性不足群体的学生。

The collaborative research team of Professors Uribe-Romo and Yuan at the University of Central Florida is designing and creating new catalysts that use sunlight to synthesize organic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals. These catalysts also contain earth-abundant elements, are easy to recover and reuse, and are thus sustainable. As a result, they are potential replacements for traditional catalysts that rely on rare and expensive metals. These catalysts combine the three-dimensional structural features characteristic of a class of materials known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with molecular groups with high light absorption ability. MOFs are highly porous structures, and this combination allows for shape-selective, light-driven catalysis at superior rates within the MOF pores. The research team is strongly emphasizing undergraduate participation in research, and is also engaging students from underrepresented groups in STEM through seminar series and outreach activities such as scientific public speaking workshops.The use of sunlight as the driving force in the synthesis of organic compounds is the focus of the field of Photoredox Catalysis. This field offers a promising alternative for synthesis of complex organic compounds, such as natural products and pharmaceuticals, because visible sunlight is free, readily available, and can add the energy needed for reactions to proceed in a sustainable manner. The collaborative research team of Professors Uribe-Romo and Yuan at the University of Central Florida is designing and creating new catalysts that use sunlight to synthesize organic chemicals. These catalysts are crystalline and porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composed of elements that are abundant, inexpensive and reusable (e.g., titanium and zirconium) and organic building blocks that are able to harvest light of specific energies and promote transfer of electrons between the catalysts and substrates. This work is coupling theory, solid-state synthesis, and organic chemistry for the preparation and tuning of the MOF catalysts to adjust their light-absorbing ability, as well as their internal pore structures to achieve pathways in chemical transformations that are challenging to observe in solution. This work is also including activities for the active participation in research and outreach by undergraduate students, and by students from underrepresented groups in STEM through seminar series and scientific public speaking workshops.