Special Organic Chemistry Seminar: Mechanically Coupled Mechanisms in Reactions and Materials

Abstract:

The forces between a baby’s fingers are many orders of magnitude larger than the forces between atoms in a molecule, and channeling extrinsic forces into mechanophores offers the possibility to create chemical outcomes that are otherwise impossible. Reported examples include the activation of latent catalysts, reaction outcomes that formally violate orbital symmetry, and the trapping of transition states and reactive intermediates. This talk will present recent mechanistic studies of mechanically coupled reactions and the extension of those reactions to address selected challenges in contemporary materials science.

Event Organizer: Dr. Roman Dobrovetsky