6/15/22
Hello! After a small break following junior year of college finishing, I have continued my research regarding molecular switches. Summer research, in my experience, is much more productive than during the school year. This is because I have a lot more freedom to do multiple reactions at once since I don’t have to work around classes.
Overall Plans for Summer
I have broken up my synthesis plan into parts for the two months I will be working this summer. Due to my mentor’s schedule, I will only be working during the months of June and July. I have completed half of the synthesis prior to this summer, so I have high hopes that I can complete the rest in the two months I will be working. During the month of June, I focused on one of the bottom molecules in my synthesis plan. I have been working on this particular compound for multiple months without success. We have been experiencing something called protodeboronation, which destroys the molecule during the reaction. Alternative routes will need to be explored in order to complete this step in the procedure.
As a McNair research student, I have also been working on assignments related to graduate school. One of these assignments was an elevator pitch. This can be seen below with the link provided and is just a way to quickly summarize my research to any future schools.
Successful Synthesis
Very recently, I was testing out some alternative procedures for my synthesis plan due to complications with the original. During the analysis of a possible Suzuki coupling reaction I was performing, I realized it was successful! The compound which I am referring to can be seen below. This compound isn’t in the original synthesis plan, but it is actually more promising due to its ability to be turned into two of our four endgame molecules.
Newly Synthesized Molecule
Overall...
This successful synthesis was a huge accomplishment for this month and something that makes me excited to keep going back to research. Unfortunately, in organic research there are a lot of failures. This area of chemistry is not always reliable since theoretical chemistry does not always line up with real-life reactions. I have been working with my mentor to find alternative routes for our research throughout the school year and this method is by far the most promising thus far. I have high hopes that I will be able to complete my research this summer or get to the very final stages by the end of July.