Book Description

Catalysis is a very interesting area of chemistry, which is currently developing at a rapid pace. A great deal of effort is being put forth by both industry and academia to make reactions faster and more productive. One method of accomplishing this is by the development of catalysts. Enzymes are an example of catalysts that are able to perform reactions on a very rapid time scale and also very specifically; a goal for every man-made catalyst. A kinetic study can also be carried out for a reaction to gain a better understanding of its mechanism and to determine what type of catalyst would assist the reaction. Kinetic studies can also help determine other factors, such as the shelf life of a chemical, or the optimum temperature for an industrial scale reaction. An area of catalysis being studied at this time is that of oxygenations. Life on this earth depends on the kinetic barriers for oxygen in its various forms. If it were not for these barriers, molecular oxygen, water, and the oxygenated materials in the land would be in a constant equilibrium. These same barriers must be overcome when performing oxygenation reactions on the laboratory or industrial scale. By performing kinetic studies and developing catalysts for these reactions, a large number of reactions can be made more economical, while making less unwanted byproducts. For this dissertation the activation by transition metal complexes of hydrogen peroxide or molecular oxygen coordination will be discussed.