Abul Kasem Fazlur Rahman

Title : Transition metal mediated activation of carbon dioxide

Abstract:

The activation of Carbon Dioxide by transition metals forms the basis of numerous commercially and synthetically important catalytic processes. To understand the mechanistic aspects of these catalytic reactions we have reported earlier the formation of Metallo formates M-OC(O)H] [at the metal centers using CpTaH(CO) and CpNb(H)(CO) via stoichiometric oxidation reactions. In connection with our study of the activation of CO2 molecules and to explore a route to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHG) we reacted CO2 with hydrocarbons such as Tetralin, dihydroanthracene, cyclohexadiene and dihydroanthracene in the presence of various catalysts (MeReO4, NH4ReO4, V2O3, Ru(acac)3 to produce corresponding dehydrogenated products and Formic Acids. We also have conducted studies with various vanadium, Cobalt, and ruthenium oxo complexes to explore the oxidation of alcohols and ethers in the presence of sodium hypochlorite. Catalytic Oxidation of benzyl alcohol demonstrated to produce benzaldehyde. Similar reaction with tetrahydrofuran produced y-butyrolactone.

Biography:

Dr. Fazlur Rahman did his MA in Chemistry from Brandeis university and a Ph.D. from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. He did his post-doctoral works at the university of Tasmania, Australia, at the Ames National Laboratory, USA and at the University of Oklahoma, USA. Dr. Rahman received the Southwest ACS regional Award in 2009 and the Oklahoma Chemist award in 2015. Dr. Rahman held visiting faculty positions at Texas A&M, University of Rochester, Cal-Tech, UC Berkeley, Free University of Berlin and Fried Schiller University, Rutgers University and at the Columbia University in NYC. He currently holds an endowed professorship and Sharkey’s Energy Foundation Chair in Chemistry at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. Rahman also worked as an affiliated Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma where he teaches Organic chemistry as an adjunct Professor.