New Catalytic C-H Activation and Decarboxylation Chemistry for Synthesis

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The proposed research looks to create new ways of making molecules using catalysts - catalytic chemistry. A catalyst is something added in very small amounts to a reaction that will make it faster, and they play a very important in modern chemistry. Up to 90% of chemically produced materials have used a catalyst in their production - the enzymes in washing powder are a type of biological catalyst that helps break down organic stains on clothes, for example. The catalytic converter in a car contains precious metal catalysts that help convert harmful nitrogen monoxide fumes into harmless nitrogen gas.Catalysts can dramatically accelerate chemical reactions, to the extent where some impossibly slow processes become highly efficient when performed under catalytic conditions. The challenge is matching up the right catalyst with the right chemical reaction. This research proposal will look at ways of manipulating the carbon-hydrogen bond through catalysis. The C-H bond is often thought of as inert, being the most common bond in organic chemistry and frequently a by-stander in chemical reactions. Its common occurrence, though, gives it tremendous potential as a site for chemical manipulation - if ways can be found to do this selectively under mild reaction conditions. We now have methods in place to achieve C-H activation using transition metal catalysis, and we are looking to exploit their economic and environmental benefits in streamlined chemical synthesis.We will apply the catalytic reactions we discover to make a class of molecule called heterocycles. Heterocyclic compounds have enormous importance in our society: DNA, sugars, proteins, the molecules of nature, drugs, insecticides and vitamins represent just some of the classes of heterocycle essential to the way we live our lives. As a result, the discovery of new and improved ways to synthesise new and improved heterocycles is at the forefront of modern chemistry research. The use of C-H activation offers substantial improvements to both the synthesis of existing heterocyclic compounds and the discovery of new ones, which can have wide application in medicine, engineering and agriculture.