CAS: Investigation of Oxidative Construction/Deconstruction

在化学系化学合成项目的支持下，宾夕法尼亚大学的科兹洛夫斯基教授正在开发一种方法，通过形成新的碳-碳键来连接分子，将聚合物废物转化为增值材料，并产生用于研究大气氧化事件的分子。这些活动有助于：(1)改进合成技术，从而产生更有效和可持续的工艺，以产生先进的材料；(2)优化导致选择性反应的催化剂；(3)找到聚合物废物流的生产用途。这些项目之间的联系是，所研究的反应类型是氧化反应，氧化反应减少分子中碳氢键的数量，并用更有价值的碳-碳或碳-氧键取代它们。更广泛地说，这个项目正在努力通过采用注重学生成长而不是高风险测试的方法来改善化学教学。科兹洛夫斯基教授亦积极参与发展专业支援系统，以增加科学、工程及数学学科的多样性。发展新的氧化合成方法，其目标包括设计环境友好的化学过程是重要的。科兹洛夫斯基教授和她的研究小组正在研究复杂分子合成的新氧化方法，通过优化光驱动反应来制备多芳烃和化学废物的增值。科兹洛夫斯基团队也在研究烷基烯交叉偶联反应的固体催化剂。额外的努力集中在研究大气氧化中间体分解的速率上。这些研究有助于设计可持续方法的目标：(i)在非功能化中心进行工程反应，从而消除了对复杂的预功能化起始材料的需求；（ii）使用氧气作为终端氧化剂；（iii）使用更丰富和更便宜的贱金属；（iv）将废料转化为有用的化学品。在一个互补的研究领域，正在研究大气中挥发性有机化合物的命运。这些努力对于模拟污染和气候过程至关重要。通过这些活动，科兹洛夫斯基教授和她的研究团队正致力于有机、计算、大气和材料化学的联系，以寻求新的可持续化学解决方案。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 Synthesis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Kozlowski of the University of Pennsylvania is developing methodology to connect molecules by forming new carbon-carbon bonds, to convert polymer waste into value-added materials, and to generate molecules to study atmospheric oxidation events. These activities are helping to: (i) improve synthetic technology that will result in more efficient and sustainable processes to generate advanced materials, (ii) optimize catalysts that lead to selective reactions, and (iii) find productive uses for polymer waste streams. The link among these projects is that the types of reactions being studied are oxidations, which reduce the number of carbon-hydrogen bonds in a molecule and replace them with more valuable carbon-carbon or carbon-oxygen bonds. More broadly, this program is working to improve chemistry instruction by employing methodology that focuses on student growth instead of high stakes tests. Professor Kozlowski is also actively involved in developing professional support systems for increasing diversity in science, engineering and mathematics disciplines.The development of novel oxidative synthetic methods whose goals include the design of environmentally benign chemical processes is important. Professor Kozlowski and her research team are investigating new oxidative methods for complex molecule synthesis by optimizing light-driven reactions for the preparation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and the valorization of chemical waste. The Kozlowski team is also studying solid catalysts for alkylarene cross-coupling reactions. Additional efforts are focused on studying the rates that atmospheric oxidation intermediates decompose. These studies are contributing to the goal of designing sustainable methods by: (i) engineering reactions at non-functionalized centers, thereby eliminating the need for complex pre-functionalized starting materials; (ii) using oxygen as the terminal oxidizing agent, (iii) using more abundant and less expensive base metals, and (iv) converting waste materials to useful chemicals. In a complementary research area, the fate of volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere is being investigated. These efforts are critical for modeling both pollution and climate processes. Through these activities, Professor Kozlowski and her research team are working at the nexus of organic, computational, atmospheric, and materials chemistry toward new sustainable chemistry solutions.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.