Radical Bromination Using Photoredox Catalysis — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Radical Bromination Using Photoredox Catalysis

Name: Sydney Redlin
Major: Biology
Hometown: Kenosha
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Name: Jacquie Chippeaux
Major: Biology
Hometown: Appleton
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Name: Emma Hardwick
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: St. Charles
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Abstract

Radical bromination is an important reaction in organic synthesis because it converts a normally unreactive C–H bond of an alkane to a C–Br bond of an alkyl halide. Alkyl halides are versatile synthetic intermediates that can be used to form many other common functional groups. Many current methods for radical bromination are costly, inefficient, and require toxic reagents and high energy UV light. The goal of our research is to develop new methods for radical bromination using photocatalysis. Photocatalysis is a more sustainable approach to radical bromination, since it minimizes the use of toxic reagents and allows for reactions to be performed using sunlight as the energy source. Current efforts in our lab are focused on benzylic bromination using substrates like ethyl benzene and a derivative of ibuprofen, methyl 2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propanoate. Using a photocatalyst called tetra-n-butylammonium decatungstate, light from a reptile lamp, and a variety of radical bromine sources in acetonitrile, we have achieved benzylic bromination in low to moderate yields. Current efforts are focused on optimizing the reaction conditions to increase the yield. We have also observed the formation of an amide side product that we are exploring further in the hopes of developing a benzylic amidation reaction.

Poster file