CAS: Copper-Catalyzed Oxidation Reactions of Carboxylic Acids

在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，西弗吉尼亚大学的杰西卡·胡佛正在研究一种新的催化剂，利用羧酸释放二氧化碳的有利能量，将羧酸转化为增值化合物。研究羧酸的新反应有助于促进丰富的可再生资源作为化学原料的利用，因为生物质资源中可以获得大量的羧酸。Hoover博士和她的研究小组正在寻找新的催化剂来调节和控制羧酸的氧化和脱羧反应。这些活动包括发展对催化剂如何工作的基本理解，以仔细适应其应用。该研究项目将进一步为未来的西弗吉尼亚州教师提供研究经验，以支持和丰富该州的化学教育。Hoover博士还参与研究生和本科化学学生的职业规划活动，以支持他们在STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）学科的未来。由催化剂控制的羧酸转化为各种分子片段是合成复杂化学结构的一种有吸引力的策略，因为羧酸的起始材料丰富、稳定，并且可以从可再生资源中获得。目前，这种策略具有实际的局限性，因为将羧酸转化为增值材料的方法仅限于苯甲酸的偶联反应，其中羧酸基团通过脱羧和氧化的结合过程被新的官能团取代。Hoover博士和她的研究小组正在探索新的铜催化反应，将羧酸偶联反应的氧化和脱羧步骤分开，以允许羧酸的受控发散转化为化合物，这些化合物是合成生物活性和药物相关分子的重要中间体。这些系统的机理研究被用来帮助理解整个反应途径，以及如何调整反应条件以有利于氧化和/或脱羧步骤。这些活动支持培训和发展催化、有机和有机金属合成以及反应机制阐明等跨学科领域的研究生和本科生研究人员，为他们未来在化学劳动力中的职业生涯做好准备。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 the support of the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Jessica Hoover of West Virginia University is investigating new catalysts to convert carboxylic acids to value-added compounds, taking advantage of the favorable energetics associated with carbon dioxide release from such compounds. The investigation of new reactions of carboxylic acids can help advance the use of abundant and renewable resources as chemical feedstocks, as a good number of carboxylic acids are available from biomass sources. Dr. Hoover and her research team are identifying new catalysts to tune and control oxidation and decarboxylation reactions of carboxylic acids. These activities include developing a fundamental understanding of how the catalysts work to carefully adapt their applications. This research program is further providing research experiences to future West Virginia teachers to support and enrich chemistry education in the state. Dr. Hoover is also involved in career planning activities for both graduate and undergraduate chemistry students to support their futures in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines.Catalyst-controlled conversion of carboxylic acids to a variety of molecular fragments is an attractive strategy for the synthesis of complex chemical structures because carboxylic acid starting materials are abundant, stable and can be obtained from renewable sources. Currently, this strategy has practical limitations because methods to convert carboxylic acids into value-added materials are restricted to coupling reactions of benzoic acids, in which the carboxylic acid group is replaced with a new functional group through a combined decarboxylative and oxidative process. Dr. Hoover and her research group are exploring new copper-catalyzed reactions that separate the oxidation and decarboxylation steps of carboxylic acid coupling reactions to allow the controlled divergent conversion of carboxylic acids to compounds that are important intermediates in the synthesis of biologically active and pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Mechanistic studies of these systems are being used to aid in understanding the overall reaction pathway and how reaction conditions can be adjusted to favor the oxidation and/or decarboxylation steps. These activities are supporting the training and development of graduate and undergraduate researchers in the interdisciplinary fields of catalysis, organic and organometallic synthesis, and reaction mechanism elucidation to prepare them for future careers in the chemical workforce.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.