CAREER: Carbon-Carbon Single Bond Activation - Mechanistic Comparisons and Reaction Development

在这项由化学系化学催化计划资助的职业奖项中，霍普学院化学系的Jeffrey B.Johnson教授将从机理上理解过渡金属催化剂激活碳-碳单键的过程。建议的研究将从三个已知的过渡金属催化的C-C键活化反应的详细机理分析开始。从这些研究中收集的数据将提供对影响C-C单键活性的因素的洞察，揭示机理途径和催化中间体，并随后指导更通用和更强大的反应方法的发展。虽然C-C单键在有机化学中普遍存在，但这种化学部分通常被认为是惰性的--很少有反应选择性地裂解C-C键并使其官能化。新方法有望为构建生物活性分子、天然产物和药物化合物提供一种新的范例。在本科院校开展这项拟议的研究将让本科生作为这项工作所有方面的唯一研究人员。这些学生将有机会扩展他们的课堂经验，探索新的学科，如有机金属化学，催化，动力学和机械研究，同时也发展在任何领域取得成功所需的技能。该项目还支持与希望大学向上绑定计划的合作，该计划帮助高危高中生为大学做准备，从而促进STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)领域多样性的提高。

In this CAREER award funded by the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Jeffrey B. Johnson of the Department of Chemistry at Hope College will pursue a mechanistic understanding of the process of carbon-carbon single bond activation by transition metal catalysts. The proposed research will begin with the detailed mechanistic analysis of three known transition metal-catalyzed C-C bond activation reactions. Data compiled from these studies will provide insight into factors that influence the activation of C-C single bonds, reveal mechanistic pathways and catalytic intermediates, and subsequently guide the development of more general and powerful reaction methodologies. Although C-C single bonds are ubiquitous within organic chemistry, this chemical moiety is generally considered inert - few reactions selectively cleave and functionalize C-C bonds. New methods hold the promise of a new paradigm that may have profound implication for the construction of biologically active molecules, natural products and pharmaceutical compounds. Carrying out the proposed research at an undergraduate institution will involve undergraduate students as the sole researchers on all facets of the work. These students will have the opportunity to extend their classroom experiences and explore new subjects such as organometallic chemistry, catalysis, and kinetic and mechanistic studies, while also developing skills required for success in any field. This project also supports a collaboration with the Hope College Upward Bound Program, a program that assists at-risk high school students prepare for college and thus promotes the improvement of diversity within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.