Organometallic Chemistry of Carbon Dioxide

在无机、生物无机和有机金属项目的资助下，德克萨斯农工大学的Donald Darensbourg教授计划在五个相关领域研究二氧化碳-过渡金属有机金属化学：1)羧酸脱羧反应的机理和范围，2)低价金属烷氧化合物和芳氧化合物对二氧化碳插入的反应性，3)二氧化碳和环氧化物的共聚，4)利用可溶性有机金属试剂的水溶液中的二氧化碳化学，5)光化学活化金属碳键与二氧化碳反应。在所有情况下，重点都放在对涉及二氧化碳的反应的机理理解的发展上。在这些机理研究中使用的技术包括高温高压下使用圆柱形内反射电池的红外光谱和核磁共振光谱。将进行二氧化碳与各种有机金属试剂反应机理的研究，最终目的是开发利用二氧化碳作为碳源生产消费品的方法。这与当前以经济上可行的方式减少温室气体排放的关注尤其相关，二氧化碳占温室气体排放的50%以上。

With funding from the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organo- metallic Program, Professor Donald Darensbourg of Texas A&M University plans studies of carbon dioxide-transition metal organometallic chemistry in five related area: 1) mechanism and scope of decarboxylation reactions of carboxylic acids, 2) reactivity of low valent metal alkoxides and aryloxides toward carbon dioxide insertion, 3) copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides, 4) carbon dioxide chemistry in aqueous solution employing soluble organometallic reagents, and 5) photochemical activation of metal carbon bonds toward reaction with carbon dioxide. In all cases emphasis is placed on the development of a mechanistic understanding of the reactions involving carbon dioxide. Techniques to be employed in these mechanistic studies include infrared spectroscopy under high temperatures and pressures using a cylindrical internal reflectance cell, and NMR spectroscopy. %%% Studies of the mechanisms of reaction of carbon dioxide with various organometallic reagents will be undertaken with the ultimate aim of developing methods of utilizing carbon dioxide as a carbon source for the production of consumer products. This is especially pertinent to current concerns of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, of which carbon dioxide constitutes more than 50%, in an economically feasible fashion.