RUI: Reaction Dynamics of Small Hydrocarbons

Connecticut College, New London CT

Investigators

Abstract

Professor Lewis and his collaborators have successfully studied thermal isomerization and dissociation reaction mechanisms for cyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclopropanes and cyclohexenes. This work provides important mechanistic information about organic reactions where two or more bonds are broken and/or formed simultanteously. In the new grant period, compounds which are specifically deuterium and carbon-13 labelled will be used to investigate details of cyclopropane isomerizations and rearrangements and labelled cyclohexenes will be used for the study of retro Diels-Alder reactions. Some related four-center elimination reactions will also be examined. Careful experimental measurements of reaction rates, energy and entropy barriers and branching ratios of competing reactions will be performed and compared with the results of computational studies. With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program is supporting the research of Dr. David K. Lewis of the Department of Chemistry at Connecticut College. Dr. Lewis and his collaborators will work on understanding the mechanisms of fundamental chemical reactions involving small hydrocarbon molecules. These molecules come primarily from petroleum feedstocks and a careful understanding of their reaction chemistry may have relevance to chemcial processes whereby petroleum feedstocks are converted into speciality chemicals. Undergraduate research students who work on this project will gain interdisciplinary training in aspects of synthesis, kinetics, and molecular modelling, all of which are skills needed by the pharmaceutical and speciality chemicals industries.