RUI: Developing Acetylene-Activated SNAr Reactions

科尔比学院的Jeffrey L.Katz教授将获得化学结构、动力学和机制项目的Rui奖，他将研究合成强大的碳-碳三键与经典的有机转化-亲核芳香取代(SNAR)反应的合并。Katz小组已经发现乙炔基团足以激活氟苯进行亲核取代。这种由乙炔激活的SNAR反应将在三个领域进行。首先，通过动力学测量和反应范围的实验，Katz实验室的学生将研究与芳香取代过程有关的乙炔官能团的电子性质。第二，乙炔活化的SNAR化学将被用于快速合成复杂杂环和杂环芳乙炔取代的发光团。最后，乙炔取代的Snar反应将被应用于合成氧杂杯[4]芳烃大环，形成的含有乙炔基团的氧杂杯[4]芳烃将被作为一类新的双功能分子接收器进行研究。该RUI奖还将支持与Katz教授合作的学生，作为科尔比学院针对未被充分代表的少数民族学生的研究性辅导计划的一部分。卡茨教授是科尔比研究学者计划(CRS)的创建者和主任，这是一个为少数族裔学生提供的学年计划，让他们在大一的时候就能与理科教师一起进行独立的研究项目。卡茨教授还担任科尔比科学成就项目(CAPS)的联席主任，这是一个夏季桥牌项目，为来自代表性不足的背景的一年级学生提供入学机会。同时，这些计划寻求招收和留住少数族裔学生进入化学和其他科学学科。参加卡茨实验室CRS和CAPS计划的学生将在拟议的研究中发挥积极作用，参加研究小组会议，出席地方和国家会议并在会议上张贴海报，并与其他学生-科学家进行学术和社交互动。

With an RUI Award from the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program, Professor Jeffrey L. Katz of Colby College will research the merging of the synthetically powerful carbon-carbon triple bond, with a classic organic transformation, the nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reaction. The Katz group has found ethynyl groups to be sufficient for activating fluorobenzenes toward nucleophilic substitution. Such acetylene-activated SNAr reactions will be pursued in three areas. First, through kinetics measurements and experiments of reaction scope, students in the Katz laboratory will study the electronic nature of acetylene functional groups with respect to aromatic substitution processes. Second, acetylene-activated SNAr chemistry will be exploited for the rapid synthesis of complex heterocycles, and heterocyclic arylethynyl-substituted luminophores. Finally, acetylene-substituted SNAr reactions will be applied to the synthesis of oxacalix[4]arene macrocycles, and the formed oxacalix[4]arenes bearing acetylene groups will be studied as a new class of bifunctional molecular receptors.This RUI award will also support students working with Professor Katz as part of a research-based mentoring program for underrepresented minority students in chemistry at Colby College. Professor Katz is the creator and Director of the Colby Research Scholars (CRS) Program, an academic-year program for minority students to pursue independent research projects with faculty in the sciences as early as their freshman year. Professor Katz also serves as co-Director of the Colby Achievement Program in the Sciences (CAPS), a summer bridge program for entering first-year students from underrepresented backgrounds. In conjunction, these programs seek to recruit and retain minority students into chemistry and other scientific disciplines. Students participating in the CRS and CAPS programs in the Katz laboratory will have active roles in the proposed research, participate in research group meetings, attend and present posters at local and national meetings, and interact academically and socially with other student-scientists.