Organocatalytic Alcohol Activation

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This project involves the design, synthesis and development of novel phosphine oxide catalysts and their application in the activation of alcohols and other hydroxyl-containing functional groups such as carboxylic and sulfonic acids. Potential areas of reaction development will include new carbon-nitrogen and carbon-carbon bond-forming processes. In a second strand we will also investigate catalysts and Bronsted acid combinations that are suitable for the elimination of alcohols to afford alkenes. The latter topic will require further catalyst optimisation and this will be aided by QM calculations which we will use to explore the elementary steps of the catalytic cycle and the product-determining step in particular.