Jillian Kelley ’23 and Lilyana Walsh ’23
Influence of Solvent on the Reactivity of Iron Pentacarbonyl
Jillian Kelley ’23, Chemistry major
Lilyana Walsh ’23, Chemistry and Mathematics major
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Laperle, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Iron pentacarbonyl (IPC) is commonly used as a catalytic compound, but when added to certain solvents, IPC can form a hexacoordinated complex with that solvent that may alter its catalytic properties. This research studied the impact of THF on IPC. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to measure the IR intensity of a signature IPC-THF complex vibrational mode, and, in conjunction with computational methods, the equilibrium structure, thermodynamics, and geometry of the complex was determined. Additionally, the reactivity of THF with IPC was analyzed by performing a photo-reaction with THF, IPC, and allyl alcohol. These experimental results were supported by high level Density Functional Theory computations on the equilibrium structure, geometry, and energy of the IPC-THF complex.
Poster Presentation: Wednesday, April 26, 2 – 4 p.m.
