Dr. Sen is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program to study the mechanisms of homogeneous catalysts. He has developed a rhodium chloride based catalytic system that is capable of the selective oxidation of methane to methanol or acetic acid in the presence of oxygen and carbon monoxide. Further, this system will preferentially cleave carbon-carbon bond of higher alkanes to produce methanol or acetic acid. A second catalytic system based upon copper chloride and palladium is able to oxidize the carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon cleavage products of alkanes at rates comparable to commercially utilized processes. The PI has proposed to undertake a detailed kinetic and mechanistic study of the bimetallic catalytic system. Key issues to be addressed in this investigation are the roles of carbon monoxide and water in the catalytic cycle and the nature of carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon bonds upon oxidation products. Specific methodologies will include kinetic isotope effect studies and the design and fabrication of a custom flow reactor. Selective partial oxidation chemistry is one of the most actively explored fields in the US chemical industry. The conversion of hydrocarbons to commercially valuable feedstock materials such as alcohols and carboxylic acids is commercially important. The development of new catalysts to perform this function is of great practical importance due to the value-added nature of the process.
