Alan Brisdon

Last updated
Alan Brisdon
Born
Alan K. Brisdon
Alma mater University of Southampton [1] (BSc., PhD)
Known for Fluorine Chemistry
Inorganic Synthesis
Scientific career
Fields Inorganic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry
InstitutionsThe University of Manchester
Thesis Matrix isolation infra-red and mass spectrometric studies of some arsenic and selenium oxides  (1988)
Website fluorine.ch.man.ac.uk

Alan K. Brisdon is a British chemist and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Manchester. [1] His research in general is based on fluorine chemistry, including on HCFCs, fluorine-containing organometallic systems, fluorophosphines and fluorine-containing materials, such as ionic liquids and fluorographenes. [2]

Contents

Education

Brisdon completed his Bachelor of Science at University of Southampton. Upon graduation, he continued to read for his Doctor of Philosophy degree on Matrix isolation infra-red and mass spectrometric studies of some arsenic and selenium oxides and successfully gained his PhD in 1988. [3]

Research and career

Upon completing his PhD, Brisdon worked for one year on a UKEA (Winfrith) funded project investigating on design, construction and testing of systems for sampling directly from a reaction chamber at or above atmospheric pressures and at high temperatures. [4] He then completed his postdoctoral research at University of Leicester where he worked on synthesis of high oxidation-state transition metal fluorides and oxide-fluorides via high pressure and liquid fluorine syntheses and on the fluorination of the fullerene's, C60and C70. [1] [4] He then joined the University of Manchester as a Lecturer and was later on promoted to the position of Senior Lecturer. [4]

Brisdon's research in general is based on fluorine chemistry, including on HFCs, fluorine-containing organometallic systems, fluorophosphines and fluorine-containing materials, such as ionic liquids and fluorographenes. [2] [5]

Brisdon is the current Director of Teaching and Learning at Apart from research and lecturing in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Manchester. [1] He also is a highly regarded member [4] of the Fluorine Groups in the Royal Society of Chemistry [6] as well as the American Chemical Society [7] and is also part of the editorial board in the Journal of Fluorine Chemistry. [8]

Notable work

Brisdon is the author of Inorganic Spectroscopic Methods, a book which elaborates and discusses several spectroscopic techniques that can be used in inorganic chemistry, including vibrational spectroscopy, resonance spectroscopy, UV/Vis Spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. [9]

In 2014, Brisdon also participated in a research which showed how the use of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol as solvent would be able to improve the efficiency of gold catalyzed A3-reactions. [10] The research also showed that the rate of the reaction can be accelerated by the use of a microwave reactor.

In 2001, Brisdon also reported on the synthesis of new fluorovinyl-containing organometallic complexes and fluorovinyl-containing phosphine ligands of the type RnP(CX=CF2)3-n(n =1, 2; X = Cl, F) and their complexes. [11] The research showed how HFC-134a and HCFC-133a with two equivalents of butyllithium can form fluorovinyllithium reagents (CF2=CFLi and CF2=CClLi). These reagents were then used to synthesize these new novel fluorovinyl-containing transition metal and main-group compounds.

Major publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inorganic chemistry</span> Field of chemistry

Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disciplines is far from absolute, as there is much overlap in the subdiscipline of organometallic chemistry. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry, including catalysis, materials science, pigments, surfactants, coatings, medications, fuels, and agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metallocene</span>

A metallocene is a compound typically consisting of two cyclopentadienyl anions (C
5
H
5
, abbreviated Cp) bound to a metal center (M) in the oxidation state II, with the resulting general formula (C5H5)2M. Closely related to the metallocenes are the metallocene derivatives, e.g. titanocene dichloride or vanadocene dichloride. Certain metallocenes and their derivatives exhibit catalytic properties, although metallocenes are rarely used industrially. Cationic group 4 metallocene derivatives related to [Cp2ZrCH3]+ catalyze olefin polymerization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organometallic chemistry</span> Study of organic compounds containing metal(s)

Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and sometimes broadened to include metalloids like boron, silicon, and selenium, as well. Aside from bonds to organyl fragments or molecules, bonds to 'inorganic' carbon, like carbon monoxide, cyanide, or carbide, are generally considered to be organometallic as well. Some related compounds such as transition metal hydrides and metal phosphine complexes are often included in discussions of organometallic compounds, though strictly speaking, they are not necessarily organometallic. The related but distinct term "metalorganic compound" refers to metal-containing compounds lacking direct metal-carbon bonds but which contain organic ligands. Metal β-diketonates, alkoxides, dialkylamides, and metal phosphine complexes are representative members of this class. The field of organometallic chemistry combines aspects of traditional inorganic and organic chemistry.

Ferrocene is an organometallic compound with the formula Fe(C5H5)2. The molecule is a complex consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings bound to a central iron atom. It is an orange solid with a camphor-like odor, that sublimes above room temperature, and is soluble in most organic solvents. It is remarkable for its stability: it is unaffected by air, water, strong bases, and can be heated to 400 °C without decomposition. In oxidizing conditions it can reversibly react with strong acids to form the ferrocenium cation Fe(C5H5)+2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrofluoric acid</span> Solution of hydrogen fluoride in water

Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. It is used to make most fluorine-containing compounds; examples include the commonly used pharmaceutical antidepressant medication fluoxetine (Prozac) and the material PTFE (Teflon). Elemental fluorine is produced from it. It is commonly used to etch glass and silicon wafers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metal carbonyl</span> Coordination complexes of transition metals with carbon monoxide ligands

Metal carbonyls are coordination complexes of transition metals with carbon monoxide ligands. Metal carbonyls are useful in organic synthesis and as catalysts or catalyst precursors in homogeneous catalysis, such as hydroformylation and Reppe chemistry. In the Mond process, nickel tetracarbonyl is used to produce pure nickel. In organometallic chemistry, metal carbonyls serve as precursors for the preparation of other organometallic complexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenon difluoride</span> Chemical compound

Xenon difluoride is a powerful fluorinating agent with the chemical formula XeF
2
, and one of the most stable xenon compounds. Like most covalent inorganic fluorides it is moisture-sensitive. It decomposes on contact with water vapor, but is otherwise stable in storage. Xenon difluoride is a dense, colourless crystalline solid.

Iron shows the characteristic chemical properties of the transition metals, namely the ability to form variable oxidation states differing by steps of one and a very large coordination and organometallic chemistry: indeed, it was the discovery of an iron compound, ferrocene, that revolutionalized the latter field in the 1950s. Iron is sometimes considered as a prototype for the entire block of transition metals, due to its abundance and the immense role it has played in the technological progress of humanity. Its 26 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Ar]3d64s2, of which the 3d and 4s electrons are relatively close in energy, and thus it can lose a variable number of electrons and there is no clear point where further ionization becomes unprofitable.

Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of organofluorine compounds, organic compounds that contain a carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from oil and water repellents to pharmaceuticals, refrigerants, and reagents in catalysis. In addition to these applications, some organofluorine compounds are pollutants because of their contributions to ozone depletion, global warming, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. The area of organofluorine chemistry often requires special techniques associated with the handling of fluorinating agents.

In chemistry and molecular physics, fluxionalmolecules are molecules that undergo dynamics such that some or all of their atoms interchange between symmetry-equivalent positions. Because virtually all molecules are fluxional in some respects, e.g. bond rotations in most organic compounds, the term fluxional depends on the context and the method used to assess the dynamics. Often, a molecule is considered fluxional if its spectroscopic signature exhibits line-broadening due to chemical exchange. In some cases, where the rates are slow, fluxionality is not detected spectroscopically, but by isotopic labeling and other methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organoactinide chemistry</span> Study of chemical compounds containing actinide-carbon bonds

Organoactinide chemistry is the science exploring the properties, structure, and reactivity of organoactinide compounds, which are organometallic compounds containing a carbon to actinide chemical bond.

Sulfur mononitride is an inorganic compound with the molecular formula SN. It is the sulfur analogue of and isoelectronic to the radical nitric oxide, NO. It was initially detected in 1975, in outer space in giant molecular clouds and later the coma of comets. This spurred further laboratory studies of the compound. Synthetically, it is produced by electric discharge in mixtures of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, or combustion in the gas phase and by photolysis in solution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiophosphoryl fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Thiophosphoryl fluoride is an inorganic molecular gas with formula PSF3 containing phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine. It spontaneously ignites in air and burns with a cool flame. The discoverers were able to have flames around their hands without discomfort, and called it "probably one of the coldest flames known". The gas was discovered in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half sandwich compound</span> Class of coordination compounds

Half sandwich compounds, also known as piano stool complexes, are organometallic complexes that feature a cyclic polyhapto ligand bound to an MLn center, where L is a unidentate ligand. Thousands of such complexes are known. Well-known examples include cyclobutadieneiron tricarbonyl and (C5H5)TiCl3. Commercially useful examples include (C5H5)Co(CO)2, which is used in the synthesis of substituted pyridines, and methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, an antiknock agent in petrol.

Dennis Frederick Evans was an English chemist who made important contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance, magnetochemistry and other aspects of chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boron monofluoride monoxide</span> Chemical compound

Boron monofluoride monoxide or oxoboryl fluoride or fluoroxoborane is an unstable inorganic molecular substance with formula FBO. It is also called boron fluoride oxide, fluoro(oxo)borane or fluoro-oxoborane. The molecule is stable at high temperatures, but below 1000 °C condenses to a trimer (BOF)3 called trifluoroboroxin. FBO can be isolated as a triatomic non-metallic molecule in an inert gas matrix, and has been condensed in solid neon and argon. When an attempt is made to condense the gas to a solid in bulk, a polymeric glass is formed, which is deficient in fluoride, and when heated forms a glassy froth like popcorn. Boron fluoride oxide has been studied because of its production in high energy rocket fuels that contain boron and fluorine, and in the form of an oxyfluoride glass. BOF glass is unusual in that it can condense directly from gas.

Russell P. Hughes an American/British chemist, is the Frank R. Mori Professor Emeritus and Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Dartmouth College. His research interests are in organometallic chemistry, with emphasis on the chemistry of transition metal complexes interacting with fluorocarbons. His research group’s work in this area led to several creative syntheses of complexes of transition metal and perfluorinated hydrocarbon fragments.

Diphosphorus tetrafluoride is a gaseous compound of phosphorus and fluorine with formula P2F4. Two fluorine atoms are connected to each phosphorus atom, and there is a bond between the two phosphorus atoms. Phosphorus can be considered to have oxidation state +2, as indicated by the name phosphorus difluoride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper compounds</span> Chemical compounds containing copper

Copper forms a rich variety of compounds, usually with oxidation states +1 and +2, which are often called cuprous and cupric, respectively. Copper compounds, whether organic complexes or organometallics, promote or catalyse numerous chemical and biological processes.

A magnesium(I) dimer is a molecular compound containing a magnesium to magnesium bond (Mg-Mg), giving the metal an apparent +1 oxidation state. Alkaline earth metals are commonly found in the +2-oxidation state, such as magnesium. The M2+ are considered as redox-inert, meaning that the +2 state is significant. However, recent advancements in main group chemistry have yielded low-valent magnesium (I) dimers, also given as Mg (I), with the first compound being reported in 2007. They can be generally represented as LMg-MgL, with L being a monoanionic ligand. For example, β-diketiminate, commonly referred to as Nacnac, is a useful chelate regarding these complexes. By tuning the ligand, the thermodynamics of the complex change. For instance, the ability to add substituents onto Nacnac can contribute to the steric bulk, which can affect reactivity and stability. As their discovery has grown, so has their usefulness. They are employed in organic and inorganic reduction reactions. It is soluble in a hydrocarbon solvent, like toluene, stoichiometric, selective, and safe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 University of Manchester. "Dr Alan Brisdon" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Alan K. Brisdon (Publications)" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. Brisdon, Alan K. (1988). Matrix isolation infra-red and mass spectrometric studies of some arsenic and selenium oxides (PhD thesis).(subscription required)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Brisdon, Alan" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. Sanderson, Katherine (11 July 2012). "Stinky rocks hide Earth's only haven for natural fluorine". Nature International Weekly Journal of Science. United Kingdom. Retrieved 18 June 2020. Lock-green.svg
  6. Royal Society of Chemistry. "Fluorine Chemistry Group at Royal Society of Chemistry" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. American Chemical Society. "Division of Fluorine Chemistry" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  8. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry. "Journal of Fluorine Chemistry - Editorial Board" . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  9. Brisdon, Alan K. (18 June 1998). Inorganic Spectroscopic Methods. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198559498.
  10. Brisdon, Alan K.; Price, Gregory A.; Flower, Kevin R.; Pritchard, Robin G.; Quayle, Peter (2014). "Solvent effects in gold-catalysed A3-coupling reactions". Tetrahedron Letters. 55 (1): 151–154. doi: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2013.10.141 .
  11. Brisdon, Alan K.; Barnes, N.A.; Ellis, M.J.; Pritchard, R.G. (2001). "Recent advances in fluorovinyl-containing compounds". Journal of Fluorine Chemistry. 112 (1): 35–45. doi:10.1016/S0022-1139(01)00479-1.