George W. Parshall

Organometallic Chemistry in Homogeneous Catalysis

Many reactions catalyzed by soluble transition metal compounds proceed by way of organometallic intermediates, even though the original catalyst may be a simple salt. This generality is illustrated for three industrial syntheses of acetic acid that use homogeneous catalysts. Some developments in organometallic chemistry that may extend the utility of homogeneous catalysis are photoactivation of catalysts and the recognition of the importance of metallacyclic intermediates.

Trends in processing and manufacturing that will affect implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention

Several new developments in synthesis science and manufacturing technology may affect the task of implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) constraints on the production of toxic agents for military or terrorist purposes. The combination of automated synthesis methods and high-throughput screening protocols could potentially yield new toxic agents not specifically proscribed by the CWC, but such approaches are unlikely to seriously impact the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the near future. On the other hand, new developments in manufacturing may have a serious impact on the work of the OPCW inspectors. The wide use of versatile, multipurpose production facilities in making fine chemicals complicates the task of discerning whether a particular facility is used only for nonprohibited purposes under the CWC. New catalytic processes and automated process control permit production of toxic chemicals with fewer emissions that contaminate the environment and might provide clues to the nature of the processes being conducted. Tiny microreactors operated continuously under computer control can produce significant quantities of toxic chemicals (including CWC scheduled compounds) with a very small “footprint”within a larger production facility. These technical developments together with the dispersal of chemical production facilities and skills may seriously complicate the tasks of the OPCW inspectors.

US assistance to Russian chemical weapons destruction: Identifying the next steps

Dr. Khripunov was in the Soviet Foreign Service until 1992 and participated in negotiating several arms control agreements. He is now Associate Director of the Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia. Dr. Parshall was Director of Chemical Science in the Central Research Department of the DuPont Company until his retirement in 1992. Since then he has worked on National Research Council studies of the US programs to destroy both stockpile amd nonstockpile chemical warfare agents. He also served on the peer review panel for the Russian-American Joint Evaluation of Russian chemdemil technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.