-
July 04, 2011 - Volume 89, Number 27
- p. 26
Science & Technology Concentrates
More Science & Technology Concentrates
- Virtual Drug Screen Targets Flexible RNAs
- Combined NMR and computational molecular dynamics helps find compounds that interact with specific RNA conformations.
- Iron Helps Trigger Artemisinin's Activity
- Study lends additional evidence to the idea that the antimalarial drug needs a helping hand from iron to kill malaria parasites.
- Wallabies Beat Cows In Methane Showdown
- Marsupial microbes could possibly be used to alter the gut microbiome of cows to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
- Rapamycin Diversifies To Fight Early Aging
- The immunosuppressant drug might be effective for treating progeria, the rare genetic condition that causes premature aging in children.
- Nitrenium Ligand Fills A Carbene Gap
- The triazole-based ligand fills in a missing link in the series of ubiquitous N-heterocyclic carbenes.
- Superresolution Sharpens Images In Live Organisms
- Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy provides images of fluorescently labeled proteins inside C. elegans neurons.
- Titanium Sparks Ethane-To-Ethylene Conversion
- With the help of a titanium alkylidyne reagent, chemists make ethylene from ethane at room temperature.
- Isotopes Track Contaminant Breakdown
- By loading nickel onto mesoporous silica, chemists create an improved catalyst for converting ethanol into olefin building blocks.
Topics Covered
With the help of a titanium alkylidyne reagent, chemists have found a way to make ethylene from ethane at room temperature (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja202316m). Ethane is a major component of natural gas, but for uses other than fuel, such as to make polymers or more reactive two-carbon compounds, the saturated hydrocarbon needs to become a molecule with a reactive handle. This feat is typically done by stripping off hydrogen via steam cracking to make ethylene. That process, however, requires temperatures in excess of 800 °C and produces as much as 3 tons of carbon dioxide for each ton of ethylene. Researchers at Indiana University led by Mu-Hyun Baik and Daniel J. Mindiola found that they could dehydrogenate ethane at 21 °C using stoichiometric amounts of the titanium alkylidyne shown. The transient organometallic species activates one of ethane’s C–H bonds and then cuts in on an adjacent C–H bond to give a titanium-ethylene adduct. Subsequent two-electron oxidation by an organic azide or nitrous oxide quantitatively releases ethylene.
- Chemical & Engineering News
- ISSN 0009-2347
- Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society
Services & Tools
ACS Resources
ACS Careers
ACS is the leading employment source for recruiting scientific professionals. ACS Careers and C&EN Classifieds provide employers direct access to scientific talent both in print and online. Jobseekers | Employers
» Join ACS
Join more than 161,000 professionals in the chemical sciences world-wide, as a member of the American Chemical Society.
» Join Now!
Popular Sections
ACS, Analytical SCENE, Business, Careers, Economy, Editor, Education, Employment, Environmental SCENE, Letters, Government, Photo Galleries, Policy, Movies, Multimedia, Nanotechnology, Newscripts, Reel Science, Safety Letters, Science, Stem Cells, Stimulus Funds, Technology, Vaccines, Videos, What's That Stuff
Advertisements
