Heteroallenes as Building Blocks for Synthesis and Sequestration

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

The Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports the research of Professor Richard Kemp of the University of New Mexico to investigate the reaction chemistry of CO2 and its heteroallene analogs, COS and CS2, with main group metals. This research project has three parts: to reduce or fix CO2 under mild reaction conditions to produce products (such as CO) that are more amenable to further reaction, to explore the differences in reactivity that are observed during heteroallene reactions with main group compounds, and to investigate the potential catalytic routes to convert CO2 into methylcarbamate or dimethylcarbamate using a nitrogen-ligated, Zn-based cycle. These projects may impact the fixation and sequestration of CO2 on a large scale, reducing CO2 (a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming) and providing new starting materials for chemical synthesis. Professor Kemp has been successful in attracting and graduating both women and underrepresented minority students. He has developed close interactions with a university in East Africa (Tanzania), bringing promising graduate students from this country to the U.S. for training. It is expected that the majority of these students will return to their former universities as faculty, aiding the economic development of their home institutions and country.