| Details: |
To sustain improved standard of living of earth’s population, a constant supply of useful
chemicals must be maintained. These chemicals should be accessed in a simple and
energy efficient manner utilizing cheap and abundant molecules with minimal chemical
waste. Catalysis is the key route to achieve this. In natural system, metal enzymes
perform important reactions utilizing readily available metals under ambient conditions
with extraordinary activity and selectivity. Although organometallic catalysts are in use in
chemical industry for long, little attention is paid to their energy efficiency, cost
effectiveness and environment aspects. Relying on the design strategies of natural
metaloenzyme active sites, elements of bifunctionality are introduced to improve the
efficiency and selectivity of catalysts. Towards this direction, catalysts incorporating
bimetallic constructs (M-M) are designed and their catalytic utilities are evaluated. It is
demonstrated that metal-metal cooperation influences substrate activation, guides
stereo-electronic reaction and promotes product elimination in the catalytic cycle. In a
different approach, bifunctional catalysts are developed to employ water as a reagent.
Hydration of nitriles and olefin-oxidation reactions are carried out in which the metal and
the ligand cooperate in a synergistic manner and their interplay facilitates the chemical
process. The same principle is used for the synthesis of organic amide from alcohol and
amine. This talk would elaborate our journey in designing and developing organometallic
catalysts for sustainable chemistry.
Selected References
1. Chem. Eur. J. 2014,0000. 2. Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 0000. 3. Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 9764.
4. Organometallics 2013, 32, 340. 5. Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 1432. 6. Organometallics 2013, 32,
192. 7. Organometallics 2013, 32, 4306. 8. Organometallics 2012, 31, 5533. 9. Organometallics
2012, 31, 3790. 10. Inorg. Chem. 2012, 51, 1319. 11. Organometallics 2011, 30, 2051. 12. Chem.
Commun. 2011, 47, 10836. |