Organic Dications: Synthesis, Reactivity and Applications

控制物质反应性的主要因素之一是它们的电荷程度——简单地说，相反的电荷相互吸引，所以一个化合物的电荷越多，它的反应性就越强。到目前为止，生产高亲电性（带正电）化合物的方法是使用“超酸”，即比100%硫酸更强的酸。在超强酸中进行化学反应对于理解源自碳氢化合物的超亲电试剂的反应是非常有用的。本研究旨在探讨在有机溶剂中，在含杂原子（通常为氮）的分子中制备新型高亲电性物质，并研究其反应性。它在广泛的化学反应中有潜在的应用，而且它也可能与英国plc有关，因为它在进行反应（如弗里德尔-克拉夫反应）的催化剂开发方面迈出了第一步，这些反应传统上使用对环境有害的试剂，如三氯化铝。超亲电化学也可以解释生物有机反应机制中一些最大的谜题，包括DNA合成所需的反应（从尿嘧啶对应物中形成胸腺嘧啶衍生物）和蛋白质合成（从同型半胱氨酸制备蛋氨酸-蛋氨酸是翻译过程中所有基因的起始氨基酸）。即使是由细菌从二氧化碳中产生甲烷的神秘但可能非常有用的过程，也可能取决于本提案中讨论的超亲电试剂的化学性质。这是化学领域的一次新的冒险，我们希望它能得到广泛的应用。

One of the principal factors governing the reactivity of substances is their degree of electric charge - in simple terms, opposite charges attract, so the more charged a compound is, the more reactive it should be. Until now, the way to produce compounds that are highly electrophilic (very positively charged) was to use ''super-acids'', i.e. acids that are stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. Performing chemistry in super-acid has been very useful for understanding the reactions of super-electrophiles derived from hydrocarbons. This proposal addresses the preparation of novel and highly electrophilic species in molecules containing heteratoms (usually nitrogen) in organic solvents, and looks to study their reactivity. It has potential applications across a broad range of chemical reactions, and it could also have relevance to UK plc through taking first steps in the development of catalysts for performing reactions (like Friedel-Crafts reactions) that have traditionally used environmentally harmful reagents such as aluminium trichloride. Super-electrophile chemistry may also explain some of the biggest puzzles in bioorganic reaction mechanisms, involving reactions that are required for DNA synthesis (the formation of thymine derivatives from their uracil counterparts) and protein synthesis (preparation of methionine from homocysteine - methionine is the starting amino acid for all genes during translation). Even the mysterious but potentially very useful production of methane from carbon dioxide that is achieved by bacteria, could depend on the chemistry of the superelectrophiles that are discussed in this proposal.This is a new adventure in chemistry that we expect to have widespread applications.