Speaker: Brent Gunnoe, North Carolina State University
Date & Time: October 7, 2008 - 11:00am
Location: WL-Aud
Development of Homogeneous Catalysts for the Conversion of C-H Bonds
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Brent Gunnoe, North Carolina State University
11:00 AM, WL-Aud
Greater than 90% of materials produced by the chemistry industry are derived from a handful of basic hydrocarbon building blocks. Typically, synthetic methods for the conversion of these compounds into higher value functionalized materials are capital and energy intensive. With rising demand for fossil resources, the development of new catalyst technologies for the selective and efficient functionalization of simple hydrocarbons is of increasing importance. The presentation will focus on fundamental studies of metal-mediated activation of C-H bonds including incorporation into catalytic cycles and opportunities for enhanced selectivity of large-scale commodity chemical processes.