Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2012
Capstone Advisor
Dr. Karin Ruhlandt-Senge
Honors Reader
Dr. Mathew Maye
Capstone Major
Chemistry
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
yes
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Chemistry | Other Chemistry
Abstract
Salt metathesis has become a critical reaction pathway in organometallic chemistry; however, for alkaline earth metals this process is hindered by the need of highly pure and expensive metal iodides as starting materials. This contribution highlights recent attempts to identify inexpensive reagents for salt metathesis. Alkaline earth-tosylates can be prepared cost effectively using p-toluenesulfonic acid in one-pot reactions in water. The coordinated water molecules can be removed by gentle heating under vacuum. The anhydrous tosylates, however, have major solubility limitations as the result of extensive aggregation networks. The goal of this study was to increase the solubility of the tosylates by the addition of electron donating crown ethers, which may reduce aggregations. Crown ethers are known for their ability to coordinate metal ions in the cavity of the macrocycles and form sandwich or club sandwich complexes.
Four new complexes were synthesized and characterized using X-ray crystallography, {[Ca(OH2)2(18-crown-6)]3[OTs]3∙2H2O}∞ ,{[Ca(OH2)2(18-crown-6)]2[OTs]4}∞, [Sr(OTs)2(18-crown-6)(OH2)]∞, and [Ba(OTs)2(18-crown-6)(OH2)2]∞. The two calcium complexes exhibit unique metal center environments while the strontium and barium complexes show distinct coordination numbers and arrangements of coordinating ligands. The arrangement of tosylate anions in the structures is determined by the coordination atmosphere of water molecules to the metal centers. All four characterized compounds were found to be soluble in pyridine, which improves upon previous studies that only show tosylate complexes soluble in water.
Recommended Citation
Brooks, Adam J., "Synthesis of Novel Alkaline Earth Tosylate Complexes through Donor Studies" (2012). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 136.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/136
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
