Dr. Katharine Covert, Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program of the Chemistry Division and by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) for studies of the synthesis of antimony allyls and oxo-allyls. A class of antimony allyls with sterically demanding alkoxides will be prepared. Oxidition and transfer studies of the allyl fragments with molybdenum, tin, and vanadium will be performed. Dr. Covert's group will also synthesize and resolve chiral antimony allyls, and they will survey their reactivity in allyl transfer and oxidation reactions. The education component of this project concentrates on large general chemistry courses with a focus on student retention and development, and takes advantage of the synergism between research and teaching. This project addresses the synthesis of a series of antimony complexes containing both a reactive organic fragment, known as an allyl, and a series of bulky substituents, known as alkoxides. The combination of these bulky substituents with antimony provide the opportunity to control the reactivity of the allyl fragment, and to understand commercial processes which utilize antimony catalysts to perform the oxidation of small organic molecules such as propene and propane. Fundamental studies of the synthesis of these compounds and the oxidation and transfer of the allyl fragments will be performed.
