Descripción del proyecto
Más vale maña que fuerza
El diseño racional de moléculas nuevas para aplicaciones que van desde la energía a la medicina, entre otras, se enfrenta a menudo con limitaciones relacionadas con la renuencia de la naturaleza para que las reacciones avancen. Los científicos pueden saber qué átomos quieren y dónde los quieren, así como los compuestos químicos básicos disponibles para desmontar y montar de nuevo moléculas como si fueran bloques de Lego. Con todo, los enlaces fuertes entre dos átomos pueden ser difíciles de romper, lo que impide eliminar un átomo o grupo de átomos y agregar otro en su lugar. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos PUSH-IT está desarrollando una ruta química novedosa para la activación y funcionalización de enlaces fuertes de forma sostenible, una llave para abrir la puerta a una nueva era de innovación en la química sintética para múltiples aplicaciones.
Objetivo
PUSH-IT aims to establish charge-separation within formal multiple bonds as a concept for the activation of strong bonds in redox catalysis. The project is motivated by sustainable chemistry and displays a bottom-up approach for new methods relevant for chemical synthesis as well as chemical energy conversion and storage.
Inspired by heterogeneous catalysis, we will “push electrons” through formal multiple bonds and translate new principles from main-group chemistry to metals, which readily change oxidation states. We propose these charge-separated, vicinal zwitterions as the “activated” key intermediates for the functionalization of strong bonds (C–C, C–H, C–O, N–H and O–H). Importantly, we anticipate complementary and hence hitherto elusive chemo- and regiodiscrimination to the state of the art due to the unprecedented nucleophilicity of these compounds. The targeted applications include both fine- and bulk chemical synthesis.
The interdisciplinary project focuses on coordination chemistry and combines inorganic and organic synthesis with catalysis and advanced spectroscopy. High-end computational design will guide all experiments. More specifically, hitherto unknown vicinal zwitterions of an earth-abundant alkaline earth metal (magnesium), late transition metals (palladium, platinum, gold), and a non-toxic heavy p-block element (bismuth) with carbon (terminal carbides), nitrogen (terminal imides) and oxygen (terminal oxides) atoms will be isolated using innovative and novel synthetic approaches. With these new and exciting molecular coordination compounds in hand, we will establish the stoichiometric activation and functionalization of strong bonds and will develop catalytic redox cycles.
Overall, this research project will introduce a novel mechanism for bond activation in catalysis, which will allow us to understand elementary steps on heterogeneous surfaces as well as invent new chemical transformations in homogeneous reaction media.
Ámbito científico
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryalkaline earth metals
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrypost-transition metals
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitución de acogida
66123 Saarbrucken
Alemania