Delivering New Catalysts for Molecules and Materials

由人类设计和制备的分子几乎影响着日常生活的方方面面。例如，使用它们的一些主要领域包括营养、服装、药品和燃料。因此，已经存在多种不同的方法来制造我们所需的大多数分子，这并不奇怪。然而，许多传统的制备分子的方法越来越不符合现代社会的要求。例如，环境问题意味着我们现在需要能够在不产生不必要的，有时是有毒的副产品的情况下制造相同的分子；经济上的限制意味着我们需要能够以原始成本的一小部分制造同样的分子；某些自然资源的供应减少意味着我们需要能够制造同样的分子，但从替代的、更容易获得的原料开始。该提案将开发新的催化剂和新的催化转化来解决这些挑战。特别是，过渡金属催化具有为分子提供新途径的能力，这是使用其他方法根本无法实现的。这是发现制造分子新方法的一种方法。此外，催化反应通常产生更少的废物，需要更少的能量，并提供更有效的反应。简而言之，催化过程可以解决许多可持续制备新分子所需的问题。本提案中描述的研究将提供新的催化剂和催化转化，这些催化剂和转化将满足成为可用工艺所需的严格标准；他们将使用现成的原料，以高产量提供纯产品，操作简单，只使用少量的实际催化剂。我们所瞄准的催化过程将产生具有内在价值的分子。这可以通过探索适合大批量应用的工艺来实现，例如在精细化工或石化工业中，或者可以选择以较小的批量操作，但提供非常高价值的产品。这些高价值产品是农化和制药工业所需的分子类型。我们将重点关注这两种类型的过程。我们还将通过开发新的聚合工艺，开始将开发的化学应用于新材料的制备。我们希望制备的新材料在生物医疗设备和新型塑料方面具有潜在的应用前景。

Molecules that have been designed and prepared by humans, impact on almost every aspect of daily life. For example, some of the major areas in which they are used, include nutrition, clothing, medicines and fuels. It is therefore not surprising that there already exists a great variety of different ways to make the majority of molecules that we need. However, many of the traditional ways of preparing molecules are increasingly at odds with the demands of modern society. For example, environment concerns mean that we now need to be able to make the same molecules without generating unwanted, sometimes toxic, side-products; constraints from the economy mean that we need to be able to make the same molecules at a fraction of the original cost; and dwindling supplies of certain natural resources mean that we need to be able to make the same molecules but start from alternative, more readily available feedstocks. This proposal will develop new catalysts and new catalytic transformations to address many of these challenges. In particular, transition metal catalysis has the ability to deliver new pathways to molecules that are simply not possible using other methods. This is one way that allows new ways of making molecules to be discovered. In addition, catalytic reactions often produce less waste, require less energy and deliver more efficient reactions. In short, catalytic processes can address many of the issues needed to deliver the sustainable preparation of new molecules. The research described in this proposal will deliver new catalysts, and catalytic transformations that will meet the exacting standards needed to become useable processes; they will employ readily available feedstocks, deliver pure products in high yields, be operationally simple to perform and use only small amounts of the actual catalysts.The catalytic processes we are targeting will deliver molecules of intrinsic value. This is achievable by exploring processes that are either amenable to large volume application, for example in the fine chemical or petrochemical industries, or alternatively, ones that operate at smaller volumes but deliver very high value products. These high value products are the types of molecules needed by the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. We will focus on both types of process. We will also begin to apply the developed chemistry to the preparation of new materials, by developing new polymerisation processes. The new materials we hope to prepare have potential applications in bio-medical devices and as new plastics.