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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

(Electron transfer activation of coordinated thiophene)

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5333433

This report summarizes our recent work on the isolation, characterization, and thermolysis of an intermediate in a thiophene desulfurization reaction. In the thermolysis, two metals combine to stabilize the C{sub 4} hydrocarbon residue in the form of a ferrole while three metals bind the extruded sulfur atom to give a cluster. Thus the metals play two distinct roles in the desulfurization of the heterocycle. The initial stage in thiophene desulfurization constitutes the replacement of one heteroatom with another, i.e. metal for sulfur. The metallacyclic ferrole provides an obvious means for the stabilization of the hydrocarbon residue. With regard to subsequent steps in a hydrodesulfurization cycle, the formation of M-C bonds is necessary simply because they are susceptible to hydrogenolysis whereas C-S bonds are not.

Research Organization:
Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG02-90ER14146
OSTI ID:
5333433
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/14146-1; ON: DE91017729
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English