CAREER: New Chemical Methods Enabled by Visible Light Photocatalysis

通过这一职业奖，化学合成项目支持密歇根大学教授科里·斯蒂芬森的综合研究和教育项目。本研究旨在开发可见光敏化作用下的绿色化学方法。这些方法将通过引入一种更有效、更环保的方法来生产生物活性材料用于进一步研究，从而使实验室和工业研究都受益。这项研究也将在PI的教育计划中发挥重要作用，既是作为学生在他的实验室中的培训机会，也是一个旨在让高中生对跨学科科学感兴趣的动手实验模块。斯蒂芬森博士通过参加金刚狼快车(Wolverine Express)(一项全州范围内的年度高中访问计划)、开发高中化学周计划和密歇根数学和科学学者计划的课程来接触高中生。这项研究探索了操作简单的催化方法，这些方法不需要专门的光化学设备，利用廉价的家用灯泡和节能LED进行照射。它的目标是1)开发一种通用的催化方法，利用Ru和Ir多吡啶配合物的配体依赖的氧化还原性质来进行自由基化学；以及2)一种催化方法，使碳-氧键活化为亲核取代反应。

With this CAREER award, the Chemical Synthesis program is supporting the integrated research and education program of Professor Corey Stephenson of the University of Michigan. This research aims to develop green chemical methodologies mediated by visible light sensitization. The methodologies will benefit both laboratory and industrial research by introducing a more efficient, environmentally benign approach for producing biologically active materials for further investigations. This research will also play an important role in the PI's educational plans, both as a training opportunity for students in his laboratory, and also a hands-on experimental module designed to engage high school students in the excitement of interdisciplinary science. Dr. Stephenson reaches out to high school students by participating in the Wolverine Express (an annual statewide high school visitation program) and developing a High School Chemistry Week Program and a course for the Michigan Math and Science Scholars Program.This research investigates operationally simple, catalytic methods that forgo the need for specialized photochemistry equipment, utilizing inexpensive household light bulbs and energy efficient LEDs for irradiation. It aims to develop 1) a general, catalytic approach to radical chemistry taking advantage of ligand dependent redox properties of ruthenium and iridium polypyridine complexes; and 2) a catalytic approach to the activation of carbon-oxygen bond towards nucleophilic displacement reactions.