Descripción del proyecto
La química quiral da un salto hacia delante con catalizadores sostenibles a base de metales abundantes en la corteza terrestre
La simetría de las moléculas controla su comportamiento y sus interacciones hasta el mínimo detalle. Invertir la simetría de las moléculas puede marcar la diferencia entre la eficacia y la ineficacia en fármacos, productos químicos de uso agrícola y fragancias. Los complejos quirales de metales de transición, que por lo general se sintetizan mediante la combinación de sales metálicas o precursores organometálicos con ligandos quirales, son un tipo importante de catalizadores que se utiliza en la catálisis asimétrica. El proyecto EARTHCAM, financiado con fondos europeos, planea diseñar catalizadores quirales basados en metales abundantes en la corteza terrestre. Los investigadores ampliarán un método desarrollado recientemente que utiliza catalizadores quirales basados en metales cuyo centro metálico sirve a la vez como centro estereogénico y reactivo para la catálisis.
Objetivo
Asymmetric catalysis relies on the design of chiral catalysts and is dedicated to the economical generation of non-racemic chiral compounds, which are building blocks for the production of drugs, agricultural chemicals, flavors, fragrances, and materials. Chiral transition metal complexes constitute an important class of chiral catalysts and are typically synthesized by combining metal salts or organometallic precursors with chiral ligands. A neglected approach follows a different direction and exploits the generation of metal-centered chirality in the course of the assembly of achiral ligands around a central metal. Our group has pioneered the general use of such chiral-at-metal catalysts from noble metals, with the metal center both serving as the exclusive stereogenic center and at the same time acting as the reactive center for catalysis. The design of reactive chiral-at-metal catalysts based on earth-abundant metals, which have economical and environmental benefits, is the focus of this proposal. The design strategy appeals for its combination of sustainability (earth-abundant metals) and simplicity (achiral ligands). Furthermore, without the requirement for chiral motifs in the ligand sphere, untapped opportunities emerge for the design of chiral 3d metal complexes with distinct electronic properties and unique architectures. This unexplored chemical space for chiral catalysts will be applied to the challenging enantioselective functionalization of C(sp3)-H bonds with inexpensive and sustainable 3d metal catalysts.
The implementation of chiral-at-metal catalysts from earth-abundant metals will rely on taming the high lability of coordinative bonds of 3d metals to warrant a satisfactory configuration stability. This will be addressed by exploiting the chelate effect of tailored multidentate ligands in combination with strong-field ligands and attractive weak interactions between coordinated ligands.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
35037 Marburg
Alemania