The purification of ethylene from petroleum feedstock is an energy intensive procedure, and thus developing more efficient methods in this area is a critical technological problem.  We have previously studied a purification procedure based on the redox properties of nickel bis(dithiolene) complexes using theoretical methods, in order to design a more convenient route to ethylene purification.  This reaction is fairly complicated, and relies on the catalytic effect of the anion.  We are currently extending this work in two directions.  First, we have investigated nickel bis(dioxolene) reactions with ethylene, as well as the reactions of mixed sulfur/oxygen ligands, to see if we can further optimize and simplify the purification procedure.  Second, we have modeled the reactions of the aforementioned ligands with ethylene in the absence of the metal atom, both to elucidate the metal based reaction and to provide a convenient benchmark for DFT.

Reactions of ethylene with dithiolene, nickel (bis)sithiolene, and related compounds, studied with density functional theory

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.