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

化学部化学合成项目的这一奖项支持了格鲁吉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，这种情况使得正在开发的化学对于满足现代合成需求既及时又重要。这种化学方法也比目前最先进的方法更具可持续性，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-和稳定的常见过氧化物。这些简单的试剂取代了通常用于当前方法的更稀有和昂贵的试剂。该研究计划位于有机，无机和机械化学的界面;因此，它为各级年轻科学家提供了独特的教育机会。这个机会特别重要，因为格鲁吉亚州立大学有大量少数民族学生，而且徐教授坚定地致力于与这些学生合作。该研究计划旨在开发和研究新型合成方法，利用稳定的过氧化物选择性地官能化具有非氧基基团的广泛烯烃。在该项目的第一阶段，徐教授和他的学生正在探索独特的铁络合物与稳定过氧化物的反应性，并开发用于选择性烯烃二叠氮化/二胺化反应的铁催化方法。这项工作扩大了铁催化烯烃和N-杂环化合物的发展。在该项目的第二阶段，该小组正在探索用于氟烷基转移反应的新的铁催化活化方法。这项工作提供了一个通用的和选择性的烯烃官能化的方法，将可能成为有机化学家的有用工具。在更广泛的影响方面，该项目将开发更可持续的方法以构建增值分子的努力与教育活动相结合，这些活动包括i）通过本科生指导和研究转变教学，以及（ii）为当地高中生和访问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学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

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.