Iron(III)salen

Presenter: Sarah Ballentine

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 19-20

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Bogdan Negru

Department: Chemistry

Abstract:
It is important to study iron-salen complexes for their potential to be used as catalysts in the oxidation of biologically important organic sulfides. This experiment is known to have a series of oxidations for the para-substituted phenyl methyl sulfides which was carried out by the oxo(salen)iron complexes that react in acetonitrile. The oxo iron complex formed from the iron(III) salen complex and iodosylbenzene is known to oxidize the organic sulfides to a more corresponding sulfoxides. The chemical kinetics data indicated the reaction is first order in the oxidate. The rate constant (k) can be found using the Michaelis Menten kinetics to help determine different oxo(salen) iron complexes. The observation kinetics of the reaction and spectral data that must prove that the substrate will bind to the oxidant based on the rate-controlling step.The best characterizations used are the UV/Vis and EPR spectral studies to clarify the oxygen atom transfer from the oxidant to the substrate.