Studying highly reactive organometallic complexes with fast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy using external cavity quantum cascade lasers

摘要

Highly reactive organometallic complexes with fast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy using external cavity quantum cascade lasers (QCL) was studied. The breaking of C-H bonds in alkanes by transition metal complexes offers an opportunity to utilize low cost feedstocks of hydrocarbons, such as natural gas, as a raw material for the chemical industry. Ball and co-workers characterized organometallic complexes of rhenium through NMR spectroscopy. Since then, two other classes of Re-alkane complex have been identified through a combination of TR-IR and NMR spectroscopy. Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy is a very useful technique for studying the reactions of short-lived intermediates. It can be used to give information on the structure and kinetic behavior of a wide range of species over a vast range of timescales. The use of QCL lasers offers an ideal IR source for nanosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy allowing sensitive TR-IR measurements, since they offer several advantages over other CW IR sources.