Catalyst study and development in enantioselective transformations and electrode reactions in fuel cells

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Our primary objective is to develop efficient, green, and new catalysis to synthesize pharmaceuticals, insecticides, and to produce energy in fuel cells. We maximize the reactivity, lifetime, and reusability of our catalysts by studying how they work, and using this information to guide the preparation of better catalysts and reactions. We prepare active and well-defined dissolved catalysts, insoluble catalysts that have been incorporated into a polymer, and we tailor nanoparticles to act as catalysts in fuel cells. From these studies, we have developed a system that hydrogenates esters to make alcohols under remarkably mild conditions. The industrial version of this reaction requires large amounts of flammable solid hydride reagents that are dangerous to handle and that create waste. Pharmaceuticals are complex molecules. The most efficient way to prepare them is to make simple starting materials complex in the fewest number of steps. For example, we developed a new reaction, the desymmetrization of imides by monohydrogenation. This reaction multiplies the useful molecular complexity that was obtained in one reaction by five. We also construct solid, catalyst-organic frameworks that are the most reusable chiral catalysts to date. We aim to prepare continuous flow reactors and solvent-free reactions with these systems, thereby producing product molecules in a continuous manner without solvent or waste.