Proposal Number: CTS-0086638 Principal Investigator: Julie d'Itri Institution: University of Pittsburgh
The goal of this project is to study supported metal particle catalysis and to understand the influence of metal electronic properties for control of carbene coupling and hydrogenation reactions. An important element is the synthesis of both metallic catalytic precursor materials and the clean carbene sources. To test hypotheses that have been predicted with respect to electronic properties, a number of kinetics and spectroscopic measurements will be carried out. The chemical reaction kinetics of hydrogen dissociation, carbene coupling, and carbene hydrogenation will be measured. Diazomethane and difluorodiazirine will be synthesized and used to provide a clean source of carbenes so that the elementary steps can be probed directly. The experiments outlined should lead to a greater fundamental understanding of the way in which carbenes combine or hydrogenate on various transition-metal and alloy catalysts. This work may lead to the development and understanding of catalytic systems that are effective for chlorine removal and for the production of useful chemicals.
