This Research award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports work by Professor John Arnold at the University of California, Berkeley, to carry out fundamental studies in synthetic chemistry aimed at uncovering new reaction pathways for the important greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. The Arnold group explores the use of nitrous oxide as an oxygen source for catalytic oxidation reactions, with the green house friendly dinitrogen as the only by-product. The first stage of their approach is the development of an understanding of both the nature of nitrous oxide binding to transition metal centers and the mechanism of N-O bond cleavage. The second stage involves development of selective oxygen atom transfer reactions based on the nitrous oxide cleavage product. Oxidation reactions are essential to the chemicals industry, and the fundamental technologies developed in this program could lead to new processes to prepare commodity chemicals using inexpensive feedstocks.
Researchers trained under this program receive extensive education in cutting-edge synthetic chemistry, learning how to prepare and handle highly sensitive and reactive compounds. They become highly skilled in modern characterization techniques and apply the results of computational studies to further their research. As part of UC Berkeley's strong tradition of outreach, the researchers interact with students in local schools to engage them in questions relating to the environment and energy.
Aided by prior NSF funding, we have acquired extensive knowledge that incorporates both ligand design and the synthesis of reactive metal complexes. In this research program, we endeavored to find new ways to engender reactivity in nitrous oxide, N2O . Besides the interest in this molecule in regards to environmental concerns, we believe that there are compelling reasons to study its fundamental chemistry. Studies of N2O chemistry have increased in recent years largely in part to major concerns associated with its role as a greenhouse gas. Currently, it lies third behind CO2 and methane. In fact on a per molecule basis, N2O is approximately 300 times more problematic as a greenhouse gas than CO2. Nature accounts for much of the production of this gas, although industrial activity produces major quantities each year. In the last project period, we developed a range of new molecules that were shown to undergo interesting patterns of stoichiometric and catalytic activity towards small molecules, such as N2O, N2, H2, etc. Results of these findings have been published in high-quality, peer-reviewed, international journals. Co-workers on the program have been awarded PhD degrees and have presented the results of their work at international scientific meetings. The work carried out in this program impacts the broader community in a number of ways. For example, it helps train skilled synthetic chemists who can plan and carry out demanding synthetic schemes, and who have the ability to communicate their science to a broad range of society. With NSF’s support over the last 22 years, the PI has trained a significant number of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral workers who have gone on to important positions in academic and industrial settings. Given the importance of synthetic chemistry to the nation’s manufacturing industry and its contribution to our GDP, a strong case can be made that training of synthetic chemists is of vital importance to the nation’s health. For example, catalytic reactions alone contribute roughly one-third of material gross national product in the US.
