Glove box: an essential tool for the hayes group research program

海耶斯小组的研究重点是制备和研究高能量和反应性分子，以应用于新的化学转化和催化。具体而言，我们感兴趣的是开发用于将廉价且容易获得的烃直接转化为有用的有机化合物的催化系统，其中许多烃是作为石化工业中不期望的副产物产生的，并且显著地导致温室气体。这是通过使用称为磷配体的分子来稳定具有不寻常几何形状和独特电子性质的过渡金属络合物来实现的。这些配合物的分离还应该提供有关键合和结构的基本问题的见解，从而有助于化学家设计新的催化反应所使用的知识库。 这些额外的知识最终将允许对现有催化系统进行合理的改进，并开发全新的反应。我的研究计划的第二个组成部分解决了制备既可生物降解又具有生物相容性的新材料的挑战。常规聚烯烃材料的特别有吸引力的替代物是聚丙交酯，PLA，其表现出有用的可加工性和宏观性质。此外，PLA的合成前体可以在廉价的可再生资源中找到，例如甜菜和玉米，并且所得聚合物既环保又生物相容。尽管有这些好处，目前的技术对聚合物的关键特征几乎没有控制。与这些系统不同，我们的策略侧重于开发带正电荷的镁和钙物种，由于它们的正电荷和空配位位点，应该是高活性的丙交酯聚合催化剂。本申请中描述的许多化学前体和定制的目标化合物与空气中的氧气和水分反应。 因此，特殊设备，即所描述的手套箱，对于排除空气至关重要，因此，对于本研究计划的成功至关重要。

Research in the Hayes group focuses on the preparation and study of high-energy and reactive molecules for application in new chemical transformations and catalysis. Specifically, we are interested in the development of catalytic systems for directly converting inexpensive and readily available hydrocarbons, many of which are produced as undesirable side products in the petrochemical industry and contribute significantly to greenhouse gases, into useful organic compounds. This is accomplished by using molecules known as phosphido ligands to stabilize transition metal complexes with unusual geometries and unique electronic properties. The isolation of these complexes should also provide insight into fundamental questions regarding bonding and structure, thereby contributing to the knowledge base used by chemists to design new catalytic reactions.  This additional knowledge will ultimately allow for rational improvements to current catalytic systems and the development of entirely novel reactions. The second component of my research program tackles the challenge of preparing new materials that are both biodegradable and biocompatible. A particularly attractive alternative to conventional polyolefin materials is polylactide, PLA, which exhibits useful processability and macroscopic properties. In addition, the synthetic precursors to PLA can be found in inexpensive renewable resources, such as beets and corn, and the resultant polymers are both environmentally friendly and biologically compatible. Despite these benefits, current technologies offer very little control over key features of the polymer. Unlike these systems, our strategy focuses upon the development of positively charged magnesium and calcium species, which, due to their positive charge and vacant coordination site, should be highly active lactide polymerization catalysts. Many of the chemical precursors and tailor-made target compounds described within this application react with the oxygen and mositure in the air.  As such, special equipment, namely the described glove box, is essential to exclude air, and thus, to the success of this research program.