Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 229-236). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 229-236). Also available on the Internet.

In addition to their potential use at low to moderate temperatures in mobile fuel cell technologies, metal hydrides may also find application as high temperature tritium getterers in the U.S. DOE Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). We use Density Functional Theory to identify metal hydrides capable of sequestering tritium at temperatures in excess of 1000 K. First we establish the minimum level of theory required to accurately capture the thermodynamics of highly stable metal hydrides and determine that isotope effects can be neglected for material screening. Binary hydride thermodynamics are largely well established, and ternary and higher hydrides typically either do not form or decompose at lower temperatures. In this thesis we investigate anomalous systems with enhanced stability in order to identify candidates for the NGNP application beyond the binary hydrides. Methods implemented in this work are particularly useful for deriving finite temperature phase stability behavior in condensed systems. We use grand potential minimization methods to predict the interstitial Th−Zr−H phase diagram and apply high throughput, semi-automated screening methodologies to identify candidate complex transition metal hydrides (CTMHs) from a diverse library of all known, simulation ready ternary and quaternary CTMHs (102 materials) and 149 hypothetical ternary CTMHs based on existing prototype structures. Our calculations significantly expand both the thermodynamic data available for known CTMHs and the potential composition space over which previously unobserved CTMHs may be thermodynamically stable. Initial calculations indicate that the overall economic viability of the tritium sequestration system for the NGNP will largely depend on the amount of protium rather than tritium in the metal hydride gettering bed feed stream.

In this thesis, studies of the nature of different transition metal-hydride complexes are described. The first part deals with the enantioswitchable behaviour of rhodium complexes derived from amino acids, applied in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones. We found that the use of amino acid thio amide ligands resulted in the formation of the R-configured product, whereas the use of the corresponding hydroxamic acid- or hydrazide ligands selectively gave the S-alcohol. Structure/activity investigations revealed that the stereochemical outcome of the catalytic reaction depends on the ligand mode of coordination. In the second part, an Fe hydrogenase active site model complex with a labile amine ligand has been synthesized and studied. The aim of this study was to find a complex that efficiently catalyzes the reduction of protons to molecular hydrogen under mild conditions. We found that the amine ligand functions as a mimic of the loosely bound ligand which is part of the active site in the hydrogenase. Further, an Fe hydrogenase active site model complex has been coupled to a photosensitizer with the aim of achieving light induced hydrogen production. The redox properties of the produced complex are such that no electron transfer from the photosensitizer part to the Fe moiety occurs. In the last part of this thesis, the development of a protocol for the transfer hydrogenation of ketones to secondary alcohols without the involvement of transition metal catalysts is described. A variety of ketones were efficiently reduced in 2-propanol using catalytic amounts of alkali alkoxide under microwave irradiation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-130).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-126).

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Title: Superconductivity and electronic properties of γ-U alloys and their hydrides. Author: Ilya Tkach Department / Institute: Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University Supervisor of the doctoral thesis: Doc. RNDr. Ladislav Havela, CSc., Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, The Czech Republic Abstract: Low-temperature electronic properties for U-Mo and U-Zr splats stabilized in γ-U were investigated. Magnetic measurements revealed Pauli paramagnetic behavior with temperature independent susceptibility for U-Mo alloys. U-Mo and U- Zr splats become superconducting at low temperatures with Tc up to 2.1 K and critical field 5-6 T. The superconductivity of -U can be considered as a bulk effect and can be described by the BCS theory, while -U superconductivity is not a real bulk effect. U-Mo and U-Zr alloys absorb hydrogen at high pressures (p ≥ 4.5 bar) and form hydrides with stoichiometry analogous to UH3. The hydrides with Mo have an amorphous structure based on β-UH3 phase, while hydrides with Zr have a crystalline structure of the -UH3 type. (UH3)1-xMox hydrides are ferromagnetic with enhanced TC up to 202 K and magnetic moments 1.1 μB/U in comparison with pure β-UH3 (175 K; 0.87 μB/U)....

The traditional reagent for H• transfer in organic chemistry is 𝓃-Bu₃SnH, which has a Sn–H bond dissociation energy (BDE) of 78.5 kcal/mol. There are, however, many disadvantages of employing 𝓃-Bu₃SnH in radical reactions. The transfer of H• from tin is necessarily stoichiometric, with 𝓃-Bu₃Sn–X being the eventual product. Overall, the tin reactions have poor atom economy; n-Bu3SnH cannot be regenerated from 𝓃-Bu₃Sn• or 𝓃-Bu₃Sn–X with hydrogen, and no general methods of regenerating the tin hydride with other hydride sources have been reported. Standard purification methods leave unacceptable levels of residual tin in the products of n-Bu3SnH reactions. Alternatives are clearly needed. Transition metal hydrides represent a class of promising reagents to replace 𝓃-Bu₃H. Due to their typically weaker M-H bonds, transition metal hydrides are often able to transfer H• to C=C and generate radicals — a reaction that 𝓃-Bu₃SnH cannot do. Furthermore, many transition-metal hydrides can be regenerated from hydrogen gas, an event that requires that the M–H BDE be over 56 kcal/mol. By combining this reaction with the H• transfer, metalloradicals can often catalyze the formation of radicals from H₂. Over the years, the Norton group has studied several transition metal hydride systems and demonstrated their applications in different scenarios. The kinetics and thermodynamics of these systems have been studies in detail, and they are shown be competent hydrogen atom donors to unsaturated organic substrates and to organic radicals. Some of these metal hydrides can be made catalytic under hydrogen pressure, thus providing an atom-economical way to effect radical reactions. Specifically, the thermodynamic properties of the chromium hydride HCpCr(CO)₃ have been carefully studied. Based on this information, I developed a Ti/Cr cooperative catalytic system featuring multiple interactions between the two metal systems. Herein are described three applications of this Ti/Cr catalytic system: anti-Markovnikov hydrogenation of epoxides (Chapter 2), reductive cyclization of epoxy enones under H₂ (Chapter 3), and aziridine isomerization to allyl amines (Chapter 4). I have also explored new hydrogen atom acceptors. I was able to catalyze hydrodefluorination of CF₃-substituted olefins with a nickel hydride (Chapter 5). The reaction was demonstrated to be initiated by a hydrogen atom transfer from the Ni(II)-H to the olefin substrates. This also expands our toolbox of metal hydrides for transferring hydrogen atom to olefin substrates. With a different cobaloxime catalyst, I was able to catalyze the cycloisomerization of CF₃-substituted dienes (Chapter 6). In Chapter 7, I developed a method to achieve a broad range of hydrofunctionalizations of olefins with hydrogen atom transfer from metal hydrides in situ. Hydrogen atom transfer to olefins was followed by TEMPO trapping to form TEMPO adducts. A subsequent photocatalytic substitution on those TEMPO adducts with different nucleophiles affords various hydrofunctionalized products.

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