SusChEM: Harnessing Stable Peroxides for Selective Nitrogen Atom and Fluoroalkyl Transfer

这一奖项来自化学系化学合成项目，支持佐治亚州立大学化学系徐浩教授的研究。徐教授正在开发新的、更可持续的方法，将容易获得的碳氢化合物转化为含有一个或多个氮原子的更有价值的分子。大量的小分子药物和功能材料含有氮原子，这使得化学的发展对于满足现代合成需求既及时又重要。与目前最先进的方法相比，这种化学方法也更可持续，因为徐教授和他的学生使用的试剂来自铁--地壳中第二丰富的金属--以及稳定、常见的过氧化氢。这些简单的试剂取代了目前方法中通常使用的稀有和昂贵的试剂。该研究项目位于有机化学、无机化学和机械化学的交界处，因此，它为各级青年科学家提供了一个独特的教育机会。这一机会尤其重要，因为佐治亚州立大学有大量的少数民族学生，而且徐教授坚定地致力于与这些学生合作。这项研究计划旨在开发和研究利用稳定的过氧化氢选择性地使广泛的带有非氧基基团的烯烃功能化的新的合成方法。在这个项目的第一阶段，徐教授和他的学生正在探索独特的铁络合物与稳定的过氧化氢的反应性，并开发一种铁催化的选择性烯烃重氮化/二胺化反应的方法。这项工作正在扩大铁催化工艺的开发，以获得广泛的烯烃和N-杂环。在该项目的第二阶段，该小组正在探索新的铁催化的氟烷基转移反应活化方法。这项工作为烯烃官能化提供了一种通用的和选择性的方法，很可能成为有机化学家的有用工具。就更广泛的影响而言，该项目正在将开发更可持续的构建增值分子的方法与教育活动相结合，这些活动包括：i)通过本科生指导和研究转变教学；以及(Ii)为当地高中生和来访学生提供暑期研究经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award from the Chemical Synthesis Program of the Chemistry Division supports the research of Professor Hao Xu in Chemistry Department at Georgia State University. Professor Xu is developing new, more sustainable methods for converting readily available hydrocarbons into more valuable molecules that contain one or more nitrogen atoms. A large number of small-molecule pharmaceuticals and functional materials contain nitrogen atoms, a situation that makes the chemistry being developed both timely and important for addressing modern synthetic needs. The chemistry is also more sustainable that the current state-of-the-art methods because the reagents used by Professor Xu and his students are derived from iron - the second most abundant metal in the Earth's crust - and stable, common peroxides. These simple reagents replace the much more rare and expensive reagents typically used for the current methods. The research program lies at the interface of organic, inorganic, and mechanistic chemistry; therefore, it provides a unique education opportunity for all levels of young scientists. This opportunity is especially important because of the large number of minority students who attend Georgia State University and Professor Xu's strong commitment to working with those students. This research program aims to develop and study novel synthetic approaches that harness stable peroxides to selectively functionalize a broad range of olefins with non-oxygen-based groups. In the first phase of this project, Professor Xu and his students are exploring the reactivity of unique iron complexes with stable peroxides and developing an iron-catalyzed method for selective olefin diazidation/diamination reactions. The work is expanding the development of iron-catalyzed process for a broad range of olefins and N-heterocycles. In the second phase of this project, the group is exploring new iron-catalyzed activation approaches for fluoroalkyl transfer reactions. The work is providing a general and selective approach for olefin functionalization that will likely become a useful tool for organic chemists. In terms of Broader Impact, this project is integrating the effort to develop more sustainable methods for constructing value added molecules with educational activities that include i) transforming teaching with undergraduate mentoring and research and (ii) providing summer research experiences for local high school students and visiting students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.