Reactions of complex epoxides on silver surfaces Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • The reactions of complex epoxides on Ag-surfaces were probed using surface science techniques and density functional theory. The role of unsaturated substituents in intermediates derived from epoxides was evaluated and a study of styrene oxide on Ag(110) was presented. Styrene oxide underwent activated ring-opening upon adsorption above 200 K to form stable oxametallacycle on both Ag(111) and (110). The unsaturated phenyl group interacted with the Ag-surface and stabilized the oxametallacycle relative to that derived from ethylene oxide. Ring-closure and isomerization of the oxametallacycle formed the epoxide and aldehyde isomers near 505 K on Ag(110). Similar to the styrene oxide-derived oxametallacycle on Ag(111), DFT calculations predicted that epoxide ring-opens at the carbon bound to the substituent group and adsorbed with the phenyl rings nearly parallel to the Ag(110) surface. Isoprene oxide also formed a strongly bound oxametallacycle intermediate on the Ag(110) surface. The oxametallacycle underwent ring-closure to reform isoprene oxide in two peaks at 320 and 460 K when synthesized by epoxide adsorption at low temperatures. The product distribution in these two states was identical and corresponded to the gas-phase cracking pattern of isoprene oxide. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 2007 AIChE Annual Meeting (Salt Lake City, UT 11/4-9/2007).

published proceedings

  • 2007 AIChE Annual Meeting

author list (cited authors)

  • Lukaski, A. C., & Barteau, M. A.

complete list of authors

  • Lukaski, AC||Barteau, MA

publication date

  • December 2007