CAS: Complexity-Building Reactions from Feedstock Chemicals

通过这个奖项，美国国家科学基金会化学部的化学合成项目支持了北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校化学系的杰弗里·s·约翰逊教授的研究。约翰逊教授和他的研究小组正在创造新的化学工艺，从丰富的原料化学物质（甚至是“废弃”化学物质）中提供高价值的分子。可持续发展是社会和化学领域面临的重大挑战。通过创造性地使用催化过程，利用丰富的化学物质来获取复杂的分子，解决了社会对具有可持续来源的新药物和材料的需求。这些研究与约翰逊教授和他的研究小组的努力相结合，以加强STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）的公众宣传，并支持将来自代表性不足群体的学生纳入化学专业。约翰逊集团在成功指导不同类型的学生完成博士课程并升任领导职位方面有着显著的记录。高丰度和廉价的起始材料，如二氧化碳、一氧化碳、氨和芳香化合物，由于它们的稳定性和相对惰性，通常被视为“死角”分子。约翰逊教授和他的研究小组正在开发新的反应，将这些丰富的、反应性差的分子转化为有用的合成材料。Johnson研究小组正在通过催化脱芳反应将非手性芳香族化合物转化为手性碳环，从而产生具有张力融合环的环己二烯系统，如去甲烯。然后，这些系统可用于掺入所述种类的原料化合物。通过这种方式，Johnson团队正在追求有用的先进手性和密集功能化杂环结构的流线型和立体选择性组装，同时结合大量廉价的气体原料。这些活动为各种各样的研究生和本科生提供了一个很好的合成化学训练基地。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With this award, the Chemical Synthesis Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry is supporting the research of Professor Jeffrey S. Johnson of the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Johnson and his research team are creating new chemical processes that provide high-value molecules from abundant feedstock chemicals (even “waste” chemicals). Sustainability is a critical challenge facing society and the field of chemistry. The focus on using abundant chemicals to access complex molecules through the creative use of catalytic processes is addressing the societal need for new pharmaceuticals and materials with sustainable sources. These studies are being paired with efforts by Professor Johnson and his research group to enhance public outreach in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and to support the inclusion of students from underrepresented groups in chemistry. The Johnson group has a notable track record in successfully mentoring diverse students through the doctoral program and on to leadership positions.High abundance and inexpensive starting materials such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and aromatic compounds are often viewed as ‘dead-end’ molecules because of their stability and relative inertness. Professor Johnson and his research group are developing new reactions that will take these abundant, poorly-reactive molecules and convert them into useful synthetic building blocks. The Johnson research team is transforming achiral aromatic compounds into chiral carbocycles through catalyzed dearomatization reactions that result in cyclohexadienoid systems bearing strained fused rings, such as norcaradienes. These systems can then be used to incorporate feedstock compounds of the sort described. In this way, the Johnson group is pursuing the streamlined and stereoselective assemblies of useful advanced chiral and densely functionalized heterocyclic structures while incorporating abundant inexpensive gaseous feedstock at the same time. These activities provide an excellent training ground in synthetic chemistry for a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate 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.