NSF Award
0955491
Professor Greg A. Slough of Kalamazoo College is supported by the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry to investigate the catalytic properties of diastereomeric Mn-salen complexes, to be prepared through a combinatorial library approach and immobilized within polystyrene/divinyl benzene resin beads. The effect of the salen complex, the resin type and solvent swelling on the microenvironment of the immobilized salen catalysts will be probed by infrared spectroscopy, and the epoxidation of alkenes on immobilized salens having differing structures will be investigated. <br/>The goal of this research is to understand the effect of confinement within organic polymer networks on organic chemical catalysis. Understanding the effects of confinement could potentially render metal catalysts recyclable and less of an environmental burden. Undergraduate students at Kalamazoo College will be exposed to a valuable research experience involving instrumentation, synthesis, and catalysis.
