Project description
A sustainable route to the production of organic compounds
Carbon–hydrogen bond functionalisation replaces an inert carbon–hydrogen bond with a functional group, altering the properties of the parent molecule. Although the reaction offers a green pathway to forming new compounds, its efficiency is limited by two factors. First, it is difficult to functionalise a carbon–hydrogen bond without affecting other carbon–hydrogen sites in the molecule. Second, commonly used precious transition metals need to be replaced with earth-abundant materials. The EU-funded MLCat project will design multifunctional ligands that can simultaneously bind to the substrate and the transition metal catalyst. Carbon–hydrogen bonds will be replaced by desired functional groups using earth-abundant transition metal catalysts. Tailor-made organic compounds could help unlock many industrial applications, such as the production of food, drugs and dietary supplements.
Objective
Transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization replaces an inert carbon-hydrogen bond with a functional group, expediently altering the properties of the parent molecule to access new classes of compounds. Although the C-H functionalization represents a green chemistry approach as it precludes the need for pre-functionalized starting materials, there are still two main sustainability shortcomings with most current methodologies. The first challenge is achieving functionalization of specific C-H bonds without affecting other C-H sites in the molecule. A widely employed strategy to control the selectivity of metal-catalyzed C-H bond functionalization reactions has relied upon the covalent attachment of directing groups (i.e. pyridine, oxime, diazo) to the parent molecule. The requisite installation and removal of directing groups make the overall transformation less appealing from an atom- and step-economy perspective. The second challenge is to substitute commonly used precious transition metals with more benign earth-abundant alternatives. The proposed research program will address these shortcomings by developing an innovative and more efficient way for selective metal-catalyzed functionalization of aromatic and aliphatic C-H bonds without pre-attaching a directing group. The proposed strategies will rely on the design of multifunctional ligands capable of simultaneous binding to the substrate and the transition metal catalyst. The proposed approach will take advantage of the ability of Cr(0) to form an pi-arene complex and activate the aromatic and benzylic C-H bonds. Addressing these challenges associated with C-H activation technology would have the power to unlock many industrial applications, such as valorizing fine chemicals and modifying complex natural products, drug leads, or polymers.
Fields of science
Not validated
Not validated
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-BasedHost institution
53113 Bonn
Germany