Students Publish in Chemistry Journal

From Colin Abernethy, Chemistry:

I am pleased to inform you that the work of Anna P. McLean (Biology ‘11), Elizabeth A. Neuhardt (Chemistry ‘10), and Joel P. St. John (Chemistry ‘11) has been published in the international scientific journal Transition Metal Chemistry. The link to the online version of our paper, “Benchtop synthesis and crystal structure determination of a monomeric N-heterocyclic carbene complex of copper(I) chloride” is http://tinyurl.com/yc8vzk3.

Carbene complexes of copper(I) chloride are used as catalysts in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Previous methods of preparation of these compounds required very expensive equipment and time-consuming procedures. We have developed a new method of making these important catalysts from inexpensive materials with standard laboratory equipment. Using our new technique, the students were able to prepare and study a carbene copper(I) chloride that had never been made before. Structural studies of this compound were then conducted in collaboration with Dr M. Findlater of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Our method of preparing carbene complexes of copper(I) chloride is now being developed as a teaching experiment to be performed in undergraduate inorganic chemistry laboratory courses.