CHED 1213 |
| Spectroscopic methods were developed to study the dehalogenation reactivity of cobalamin and the structurally similar cobalt porphyrins. These compounds have previously been shown to be effective catalysts for degrading chlorinated environmental pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The focus of our research was to generate and study the reactivity of cobalt(I) species, which are thought to be responsible for carbon-chlorine bond cleavage. The reduced cobalt species were generated by sodium borohydride reduction and sodium/benzophenone reduction, and the change in the cobalt oxidation state was confirmed with UV-Vis spectroscopy. The cobalt(I) species react rapidly with TCE and DCE (1,2-dichloroethane),cleaving the carbon-chlorine bond and resulting in cobalt(III) species in which an organic group is thought to occupy the axial site. Techniques were developed to measure the kinetics of these reactions. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Inorganic Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, March 26, 2007 Hyatt Regency Chicago -- Riverside Center, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |