Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Organic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: cmskinner2015 on April 17, 2015, 06:07:34 PM
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I have a presentation in my o-chem lab coming up and I pretty much have free range on the topic (just has to be related to o-chem) and I really want to keep it interesting. I dread presenting dry topics. This is my first course in o-chem so I am not in-the-know when it comes to the cutting edge or the most interesting processes/products of it. I would love to know what a seasoned organic chemist considers what the coolest or most interesting thing being done is in the field today.
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A quick idea in this case is to go to the library and quickly grab Science, Nature, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or Chemical and Engineering News. You'll quickly find something that grabs your attention, with references so you can look at it more in depth.
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I have a presentation in my o-chem lab coming up and I pretty much have free range on the topic (just has to be related to o-chem) and I really want to keep it interesting. I dread presenting dry topics. This is my first course in o-chem so I am not in-the-know when it comes to the cutting edge or the most interesting processes/products of it. I would love to know what a seasoned organic chemist considers what the coolest or most interesting thing being done is in the field today.
I suggest you need to think of your audience if you want to keep it interesting. In that case, I'd look for something related to food or medicine. You can use other topics as well, but with this being a "first" organic course, I'd keep the organic part down.
A principle that I like to use, because it can be simple, is mimicry. You may find that some drugs look very similar to a key compound found in nature. Methotrexate is such an example. You can compare it to tetrahydrofolate. You could discuss how methotrexate is used to treat cancers. Folic acid is so key, you may find several drugs that interfere because of a bio similarity to it or its synthesis.
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I've just stumbled at Ushio on a UV irradiation panel that uses Led instead of gas discharge lamps:
http://www.ushio.co.jp/en/products/light_source/led/index.html
this can't be very old, since UV leds are rather recent, especially at 365nm. The panel delivers ~60W light at 365, 385, 395 or 405nm (as much as an excimer lamp drawing 800W). It must still be expensive.
Sold for photolithography presently, but if Ushio find enough customers, they will probably sell it for chemical reactors as well. Do not underestimate the capacity of the semiconductor industry to improve performances and collapse prices: <5 years passed between GaN laser diodes and putting one in each Dvd burner.
Presently GaN at 405nm is banal, and many-watt sources are in catalogues. It's the first time I see many-watt sources below 405nm in a catalogue, which implies AlGaN is production-ready at least at Ushio. Since semiconductor processes can adjust the emission wavelength, they will target specifically bromides, iodides and so on. It can become a nice synthesis tool.
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These are all fantastic suggestions, thank you all so much! ;D
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I'd go photoredox catalysis; Macmillan is really pushing it and you can make some pretty cool disconnections. Recent review here:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr300503r
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The state of the art of UV Leds is more advanced than I thought. Just from the first Google page:
http://www.uv-groebel.com/products/uv-led-light-sources/large-area-uv-leds/
http://www.luminus.com/products/uv.html
and many more. Even available through Alibaba.
365-385-395-405nm are already common, with power efficiencies 15-35%, and >>100W light.
Every supplier targets chemical reactions without Hg lamps: curing, photosensitive inks, and later synthesis. As a nice advantage, the spectrum has only one peak.
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Potassium catalysis
http://www.caltech.edu/news/potassium-salt-outperforms-precious-metals-catalyst-45464
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Nichia too has UV Leds http://www.nichia.co.jp/en/product/uvled.html
- Their NCSU276AT consume 1.9W to radiate 0.9W at 385nm or 0.8W (42%) at 365nm
- Their NVSU333A consume 13W and radiate 4.7W at 385nm or 4.1W (31%) at 365nm.
These are single components of few mm with life expectancy of 50,000h. Forget mp mercury lamps soon.