Synthesis of d- and p-Block Element Molecules, Reagents, and Precursors

在化学部化学合成计划的资助下，麻省理工学院的克里斯托弗·康明斯教授领导了一个旨在生产新型含磷化合物的项目。磷是化肥、半导体和催化剂的必需成分。康明斯正在发明一种新的磷化合物，这种化合物足够稳定，可以在实验室处理，但又足够活跃，可以作为有用产品的成分。该小组正在开发“弹簧负载”化合物，这种化合物可以传递含有磷的非常活跃的分子。这些新的实体与有机化合物结合，产生新的、通常意想不到的产品。一些新的活性磷化合物寿命很短，在低温下只能稳定几秒钟。据推测，这些寿命短的化合物存在于外层空间，在那里，即使是高活性的分子也是稳定的。因此，康明斯教授的目标是将他实验室的数据与天文测量结果联系起来。总的来说，这项研究是高度合作的，涉及学术界、国家实验室和工业界的科学家。该项目为研究生和本科生提供实践培训，让他们接触到多种化学工具和思考化学的方式。此外，该研究连接和交叉施肥多个领域，包括射电天文学，微电子学和化学。除了传统的出版场所，康明斯集团还制作合成过程的视频。这些视频被发布在YouTube上，以促进其他研究人员采用协议，并为公众提供一个了解合成化学实践的窗口。通过这种方式，这项研究远远超出了实验室，激励有抱负的年轻科学家发展技术技能。在化学部化学合成项目的资助下，麻省理工学院的克里斯托弗·康明斯教授领导了一个旨在生产新型有机磷化合物的项目。该项目侧重于开发分子前体，这些前体是在辐照或热活化时由中性离去基（如蒽）排出的。这种策略提供了获得活性中间体的途径，如磷脂或磷酸环丁二烯。反应中间体可以转移到合适的受体分子，在溶液中进行反应，或释放到气相，使研究分子束质谱，微波光谱和激光诱导荧光。分离的反应产物用多核磁共振波谱和x射线晶体学进行了表征。实验工作辅以量子化学计算，旨在揭示键合的细节，并通过势能表面探索阐明反应机制。由于磷在日常生活中的中心地位，例如在肥料、微电子和催化中，这项工作具有广泛的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Funded by the Chemical Synthesis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Christopher Cummins of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads a project aimed at producing new kinds of chemical compounds containing phosphorus. Phosphorus is a required component of fertilizers, semiconductors, and catalysts. Cummins is inventing new compounds of phosphorus that are sufficiently stable to be handled in the laboratory but reactive enough that they can serve as ingredients to useful products. The group is developing "spring-loaded" compounds that deliver very reactive molecules that contain phosphorus. These new entities are combined with organic compounds to give new and often unexpected products. Some of the new reactive phosphorus compounds are short-lived, being stable only for seconds at low temperatures. It is speculated that these short-lived compounds occur in the outer space, where even highly reactive molecules are stable. Thus Professor Cummins aims to correlate data from his laboratory with astronomical measurements. Overall, the research is highly collaborative, involving scientists in academia, national laboratories, and industry. The project provides hands-on training for graduate and undergraduate students who are exposed to multiple tools and ways of thinking about chemistry. Furthermore, the research connects and cross fertilizes multiple areas, including radioastronomy, microelectronics, and chemistry. In addition to traditional publishing venues, the Cummins group produces videos of synthetic procedures. These videos are posted on YouTube to facilitate adoption of protocols by other researchers and to provide the public with a window into the practice of synthetic chemistry. In this way, this research reaches well beyond the laboratory, inspiring young aspiring scientists to develop technical skills.Funded by the Chemical Synthesis program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Christopher Cummins of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads a project aimed at producing new kinds of organophosphorus compounds. This project focuses on the development of molecular precursors resulting from the expulsion of a neutral leaving group, such as anthracene, upon irradiation or thermal activation. This strategies provide access to reactive intermediates such as phosphinidenes or phosphacyclobutadienes. The reactive intermediate can be transferred to a suitable acceptor molecule for reactions carried out in solution, or released into the gas phase to enable studies by molecular beam mass spectrometry, microwave spectroscopy, and laser-induced fluorescence. Isolated reaction products are characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The experimental work is complemented by quantum chemical calculations designed to reveal details of bonding and to elucidate reaction mechanisms by potential energy surface explorations. The work is broadly impactful because of the centrality of phosphorus in everyday life, e.g. in fertilizers, microelectronics, and catalysis.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.