Jeff Allison | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Jeff Allison
Title: Turning the Lights on Lactones: Metalloporphyrin Photocatalysts Toward the Production of γ-Lactones
Major: Chemistry
Minor: Art History
Advisors: Paul Bonvallet; Mostafa Abdelaziz

This project aims to develop an efficient, environmentally sustainable method for synthesizing γ-lactones, which is important for synthesis of natural products and new drugs. Based on a rhodium porphyrin photocatalyst and photocatalytic framework previously identified, this project works toward developing a diverse set of photoreaction conditions for the preparation of these substructures by synthesizing or procuring the necessary photochemical reaction reagents (e.g. substrate and photocatalyst) and running initial photochemical studies. Although no photochemical reaction products (γ-lactones) were observed, progress toward investigating the effect of light, photocatalyst identity, and substrate identity on the successful synthesis of the lactone-producing photoreaction has been completed.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.