Catalysis for sustainable aluminum-carbon bond formation

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In this project funded by the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Aaron Sadow of Iowa State University is studying the novel chemical reactivity of aluminum. This research supports the economy of the United States since aluminum is widely available in North America and is of value in many industries including the beverage, housing, and transportation industries. Of particular interest are the many useful aluminum compounds with bonds to carbon. Professor Sadow is developing new methods for making such aluminum-carbon bonds. The specific goal is to generate these bonds with newly designed catalysts that speed-up and guide the reactions to form desired products. Aspects of the work are challenging because typical organoaluminum compounds decompose upon contact with air and water. In addition to this research project, Dr. Sadow is engaged in community outreach with the goal of educating broad audiences about the challenges and opportunities of topical issues, such as green chemistry. The principal venue is community radio programming, which reaches both a local and national audience through a network of websites and archived shows. Professor Sadow also participates in an on-going seminar series on careers in chemistry, which introduces industrial and academic chemists and other scientists to undergraduate and graduate students.In this project, Professor Aaron Sadow of Iowa State University is studying the catalytic reactions of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds with aluminum compounds to efficiently synthesize alkynyl-, vinyl-, and aryl-aluminum compounds. Reactions of aluminum alkyls with alkynes and alkenes are unselective without a catalyst, giving mixtures resulting from metalation, carboalumination, and hydroalumination, depending on the unsaturated reactant and aluminum reagent. In addition, carboaluminum, rather than alumination, is the typical pathway catalyzed by early transition metals. Instead, Dr. Sadow is developing catalytic methods for alumination of alkynes involving substitution of a C-H bond for C-Al bond. The catalytic, salt-waste-free synthesis allows the new organoaluminum species to be used in two-step, one-pot reactions and takes advantage of the polarized nucleophilic character of alkynylaluminums. Dr. Sadow is also investigating the reaction mechanism through kinetics, for comparison with carboalumination. Dr. Sadow is developing a community radio program that broadly discusses the challenges and advances made by the chemistry community toward sustainable enterprises. Additionally, he is organizing a lecture series for Iowa State undergraduate students that highlights challenges and technical advances in green chemistry and sustainability in academic and industrial chemistry research.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.