Presenter(s): Parker Morris—Chemistry
Faculty Mentor(s): Amanda Cook, Kiana Kawamura
Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation
The chemical industry, which accounts for ~7% of the US’s energy consumption, is the source of synthetic products used every day, from plastics to pharmaceuticals . Catalysts are used abundantly in industry because they make reactions faster and more selective, thus generating less waste . One important class of reactions is alkene hydrosilylation, which combines two molecules (an alkene with a carbon-carbon double bond and a silane) into one molecule that is then used to make products like rubbers and cosmetics . Hydrosilylation is limited because purifying the starting alkene is energy intensive . Current industrial catalysts use rare platinum metal and produce waste . In our research, we utilize catalysts based on nickel, an Earth-abundant metal, for hydrosilylation of alkenes . In this project, 15 nickel catalysts were tested to determine their reactivity with styrene and diphenyl silane . Two of the 15 catalysts were designed and synthesized in multi-step organic synthesis . A primary objective of the work was designing and synthesizing a library of proposed catalytic compounds . It was found that of the 15, the two synthesized in lab were the most effect catalysts in terms of both selectivity and yield . Based on the work, we were able to hypothesize a catalytic reaction mechanism . Using this rational approach to catalyst design, we aim to develop a novel catalyst that can influence the chemical industry .