CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2016
PosterPresentation
DevelopmentofanIndustriallyRelevantCatalyticReactionforuseinanEducationalSetting
MorganConrady
FacultyMentor:BrianBellott
ForensicChemistry
Thegoalofthisprojectwastoselectacatalyticreactionthatwasconductedonanindustrialscalewhich
couldbescaleddowntobeconductedonalaboratoryscale.Thechemicalreactionweselectedwasthe
hydrogenationofanalkeneusingWilkinson’scatalyst.Thisreactionisconducteddailyonanindustrial
scale all across the world. Through the selection of this reaction, students in a laboratory setting will
hopefullyrealizetheimportanceofthereactionthatisbeingconducted.Oneofthemajorreasonswe
selected this reaction was the robustness of the reaction. When preparing a teaching lab, it is very
important to minimize the variables involved. Most catalytic reactions are not tolerant of water and
oxygen due to the fact that they will poison the active catalyst. Because our reaction does not have
theseproblems,itcanbeconductedinabeakerwithouttheneedforspecializedequipmentorgases.
This reaction also allows for students to use the NMR spectrometer and FTIR spectrophotometers we
haveinthechemistrydepartmentatWIU.Wehavemodifiedthepublishedproceduretohelpincrease
the yield of the product and to ensure more consistent results. This poster will discuss the variables
alteredandthethoughtprocessbehindthemodificationoftheprocedure.