A New Method for Anion Metathesis
vBackground Organic salts are essential reactants in a number of important applications, including the preparation of reaction media, catalysts, precatalysts, analytical materials, solvent, and sensory materials. The properties of organic salts greatly depend on the nature of the associated anion. Metathesis reactions are often used to create the desired combination of organic salt and anion for practical application.Metathesis refers to bimolecular chemical reactions where bonds of two reacting chemical species are exchanged, resulting in new products that can be integrated into new processes. In particular, anion metathesis is used in a variety of chemical applications involving dynamic changes in phase, density, viscosity, conductivity, light absorbance, photoluminescence, adhesion, elasticity, or other physical or chemical properties associated with anion salts.
Methods to access non-coordinating anions are often both expensive and arduous to perform. Often bulk solvents must be removed from products. Further, in these reactions, complete consumption of the starting anion is not accomplished, leaving trace impurities that complicate downstream reactions.
Invention Description Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new method of anion metathesis allowing organic salts of non-coordinating anions to be accessible for the creation of new products. This approach allows products to be synthesized with extreme efficiency, where all byproducts are volatile or gaseous, and thus easily removed with no trace impurities remaining. Standard methods for water removal are unnecessary.
Further, due to the nature of the reaction, two solid reagents can be combined without solvents and allowed to react in solid state to arrive at a new liquid product of high purity. The approach does not demand precise stoichiometry of reactants and can be readily adapted to large-scale syntheses without the use of specialized equipment. Finally, this method is safe, cost- and capital-efficient, and provides for numerous operational advantages.
Inventor(s): Christopher W. Bielawski, Andrew J. Boydston
Type of Offer: Licensing
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