Developing Late Metal Catalytic Systems for Aerobic Partial Oxidation of Alkanes

目前迫切需要新技术，以便能够以经济上可行和对环境负责的方式使用大量天然气，这些天然气是由于最近在水解压裂和定向钻井方面的创新而获得的。将天然气直接转化为价值更高的燃料和化学品的新方法将限制目前的燃烧(直接燃烧为二氧化碳，而不捕获能量)的做法。目前，每年在燃烧过程中浪费的天然气超过145亿立方米。这一研究项目旨在通过开发新的催化剂，高效有效地加速所需的化学转化，将天然气等碳氢化合物转化为价值更高的商品化学品。成本、可获得性和其无害的性质，使氧气/空气成为大规模化学氧化的最佳选择。戈德伯格教授致力于指导和鼓励不同群体的学生追求科学事业。她的学生学习开发和分析化学反应和科学论点，批判性地评估他们的数据，使用先进的实验室技术和现代分析和光谱方法，搜索和管理大量的科学文献，并与其他科学家和普通观众进行有效沟通。通过参与宾夕法尼亚大学和费城公立学校的科学推广活动和规划，研究小组教育普通公众了解催化在他们生活中发挥的重要作用。大费城地区的高中生了解到，科学家来自各种背景，这种多样性在科学界至关重要，因为它刺激创新，加速发现新知识和解决方案。该项目的目标是开发坚固耐用的催化剂，这种催化剂可以使用空气或氧气作为氧化剂，选择性地激活和功能化碳-氢(C-H)键。由于最近在水解压裂和定向钻井方法方面的创新，目前正在获取的大量天然气需要新的技术来实现经济上可行和负责任的使用。为此，该项目的研究小组正在研究烷烃C-H键活化的新机制。对有机金属烷基化合物(C-H活化的金属产物)与氧的反应进行了详细的研究，以获得在天然气选择性部分氧化中使用氧作为氧化剂的方法设计和开发所需的机理理解。在实验室研究的同时，该项目还培养了一支科学家队伍，他们需要应对未来的许多技术挑战。该项目为下一代科学家提供重要的培训和技能，使他们能够创造性和有效地解决全球挑战。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。

There is an urgent need for new technologies to enable the economically-viable and environmentally-responsible use of the large amounts of natural gas currently being accessed due to recent innovations in hydrolytic fracturing and directional drilling. New methods to convert natural gas directly to higher value fuels and chemicals would limit the current practice of flaring (direct burning to carbon dioxide without energy capture). Currently, more than 140,500 million cubic meters of natural gas is wasted each year in the flaring process. This research project seeks to convert hydrocarbons such as natural gas, to higher value commodity chemicals by developing new catalysts that speed-up the desired chemical transformation efficiently and effectively. Cost, availability, and its benign nature, make oxygen/air the best choice of oxidant for large-scale chemical oxidation. Professor Goldberg is committed to mentoring and encouraging a diverse group of students to pursue careers in science. Her students learn to develop and analyze chemical reactions and scientific arguments, critically evaluate their data, use advanced laboratory techniques and modern analytical and spectroscopic methods, search and manage the expansive scientific literature, and communicate effectively with other scientists and lay audiences. Through participation in science outreach events and programming at the University of Pennsylvania and in the Philadelphia Public Schools, the research team educates the general public about the important role that catalysis plays in their lives. High school students in the greater Philadelphia area learn that scientists come from all backgrounds, and that this diversity is crucial in the sciences as it spurs innovation and accelerates the finding of new knowledge and solutions. This project targets the development of robust catalysts that can selectively activate and functionalize carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds using air or oxygen as the oxidant. New technologies are needed to enable the economically viable and responsible use of the large amounts of natural gas that are currently being accessed due to the recent innovations in hydrolytic fracturing and directional drilling methods. To this end, the research team on this project is investigating new mechanisms for the activation of alkane C-H bonds. Detailed studies of the reactions of organometallic alkyl compounds (the metal products of C-H activation) with oxygen are carried out to gain the mechanistic understanding that is needed for the design and development of methods to use oxygen as the oxidant in selective partial oxidations of natural gas. In parallel with the laboratory research, the project trains a workforce of scientists who is needed to address the many future technological challenges. This project is providing the next generation of scientists with important training and skills to allow them to be creative and effective in solving global challenges.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.