RUI: Reductive Activation of Carbon Dioxide by Binuclear Copper Complexes with a Copper-Copper Unit

中央阿肯色大学的雷阳博士正在领导一个旨在将二氧化碳转化为有用化学物质的项目。这一主题之所以吸引人，是因为二氧化碳丰富。为了加速二氧化碳的反应，经常使用金属基催化剂。这些催化剂的运作方式尚不清楚，这减缓了商业应用的速度。为了弥补这一差距，需要对已知催化剂进行详细研究，以了解它们是如何运行的。这将有助于设计新的催化剂。杨博士的项目强调两个方向--建立理解和新的设计。在这个项目中，杨博士的团队正在制造特殊的配体，将成对的铜原子结合在一起。初步试验表明，这些二铜催化剂在二氧化碳转化方面很有前途。这些活动非常适合培养学生。在杨博士的指导下，本科生获得了有机化学和无机化学的实践经验。此外，学生还接受最先进的仪器设备的培训。这项培训旨在激发他们对技术职业的兴趣。该项目由CHE和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。为了将二氧化碳(CO2)转化为工业附加值化学品，中央阿肯色大学雷阳博士的团队致力于开发具有CuI中心对的新型双核铜催化剂。这些金属被特殊的双核配体紧密地结合在一起，这些配体加强了铜-铜的紧密相互作用。铜-铜单元的功能是通过一个电子转移过程以合作的方式还原二氧化碳，并稳定还原中间体和产物。独特的配体设计保证了高催化效率和产物选择性。用X-射线单晶衍射法对催化剂的结构进行了表征。紫外可见光谱(UV-Vis)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、电子顺磁共振(EPR)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)提供了额外的光谱表征。其目标是获得对二氧化碳减排机制的基本见解。通过密度泛函理论(DFT)的计算研究来预测中间体结构和解释光谱数据。杨博士在这个研究项目中指导本科生提高他们对化学科学的理解，提高他们的实验和团队合作能力。该项目旨在激励学生在STEM领域为成功的职业生涯做好准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Dr. Lei Yang at the University of Central Arkansas is leading a program aimed at converting carbon dioxide into useful chemicals. This theme is attractive because carbon dioxide is abundant. To accelerate the reactions of carbon dioxide, metal-based catalysts are often used. The way by which these catalysts operate is still not well understood, which slows commercial applications. To address this gap, detailed studies are required for known catalysts to understand how they operation. This will help in the design of new catalysts. Dr. Yang's project emphasizes both directions - building understanding and new design. In this project, Dr. Yang's group is making special ligands that hold pairs of copper atoms together. Preliminary tests show that these di-copper catalysts are promising for conversions of carbon dioxide. These activities are well suited for training students. Under the guidance of Dr. Yang, undergraduate students gain hands-on experience in both organic and inorganic chemistry. Additionally, students receive training with state-of-the-art instrumentation. This training is designed to spark their interest in technology careers. This project is jointly funded by CHE and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).To convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to value-added chemicals for industry, Dr. Lei Yang's group at the University of Central Arkansas is focusing on the development of new binuclear copper catalysts featuring pairs of CuI centers. The metals are held in close proximity by special binucleating ligands that enforce close Cu-Cu interaction. The functions of the Cu-Cu unit are to reduce CO2 in a cooperative fashion through one electron transfer process and to stabilize the reduction intermediates and products. The distinctive ligand design promises high catalytic efficiency and product selectivity. The structures of the catalysts are characterized by X-ray crystallography. Additional spectroscopic characterization is provided by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies. The goal is to obtain fundamental insights into the mechanisms of CO2 reduction. Density functional theory (DFT) computational studies are conducted to predict intermediate structures and interpret spectroscopic data. Dr. Yang supervises undergraduate students in this research program to enhance their understanding of chemical sciences and improve their experimental and teamwork skills. This project serves as a way to inspire and prepare students for successful careers in STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.