Science faculty published in Inorganic Chemistry
Published Jul 07, 2009Dr. Ashfaq Bengali, senior associate professor of chemistry, Dr. Ed Brothers, visiting assitant professor of chemistry, and Dr. Don Darensbourg, professor of chemistry at Texas A&M, published "Displacement Kinetics of h2 Bound Furan and 2,3-Dihydrofuran from Mn and Cr Centers: Evidence for the Partial Dearomatization of the Furan Ligand."
Featured in the journal Inorganic Chemistry, the paper looks at the interaction energy between two metal centers (Cr and Mn) and the organic ligands, furan and dihydrofuran. These molecules serve as models for intermediates that might exist in reactions catalyzed by organometallic complexes. Understanding the energetics of the displacement of these ligands from metal centers can lead to a better fundamental understanding of catalytic mechanisms.