  
   |
||||
|
Courses:
Dr. David L. Boatright, Ph.D. Lecturer Freshman Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator Office: 2118 TLC 678-839-6028
Education:
Research Interests: Phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) is a powerful technique that is applied to an ever increasing array of chemical reactions in 40 reaction categories. The most important parameters which determine the reactivity and selectivity of PTC systems are catalyst, solvent and hydration. Although much empirical work has been performed characterizing the effects of catalyst structure, solvent and hydration on reactivity, very little work has been performed to elucidate the underlying fundamental structure-activity relationships (SAR’s). Empirical guidelines have been suggested for choosing catalyst structure, solvent and hydration, however, in the absence of a deep understanding of the underlying fundamentals, these guidelines are rough at best. This leads to the loss of valuable time and money for businesses trying to apply PTC to their commercial processes.
Through a close collaboration with PTC Organics, Inc., I am investigating the relationships between catalyst structure, solvent and hydration and reaction efficiency. The goals of this research are to: [1] gain a deep understanding of the SAR’s for catalyst structure, solvent and hydration, [2] use the added understanding to improve upon the existing empirical guidelines for choosing catalyst structure, solvent and hydration to enable the more efficient PTC process development for industrial applications.
|
|||
