Radical Cage Effects in Organometallic Chemistry and Reactions of Molybdocenes in Aqueous Solution

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. David Tyler of the Department of Chemistry, University of Oregon (Eugene), is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry to investigate (i) the chemistry of radical species and (ii) the chemistry of molybdenocenes in aqueous media. In the first part the PI will examine radical pathways in mechanisms and in syntheses, that are a dominant theme in organometallic chemistry. Specifically, he will investigate cage effects in radical chemistry and explore the role of the solvent cage so as to achieve a fuller understanding of radical systems. He will employ femtosecond laser pump-probe techniques to probe the short-lived radical cage pairs and to assess cage reactivity. In the second part, the PI will investigate the reactivity of molybdenocenes in aqueous solutions to study the catalysis of vinyl polymerization reactions, nitrile hydrolyses, hydrogenation reactions, ethylene glycol synthesis, and Reppe chemistry. Students working on the projects will gain excellent training in a diverse set of skills such as syntheses, laser spectroscopy and dynamics, photochemistry, among others.They will be well equipped to make significant contributions to research and education. The results of the first part of the project will help improve our overall understanding of radical reactions; results from the second part will have a great impact on future developments of green chemistry.