Synthesis of Amides from Nitriles via Multifaceted Catalysis

人类面临着围绕健康、能源、农业和环境的若干挑战。化学合成是研究这些问题的核心，因为它可以提供克服这些挑战所需的复杂化合物。我们所有人所依赖的复杂分子的合成越来越在成本和效益之间取得平衡。迫切需要开发新的方法来获取这些化合物，以最大限度地利用我们的资源，同时降低过程的总体成本。从简单、低成本的原料中寻找清洁、高效的方法来形成附加值化合物是化学家和化学工程师面临的主要挑战之一。一种克服这些挑战的方法被广泛应用于当代合成的所有领域，那就是催化。催化剂是一种化合物，它可以降低化学反应所需的能量，从而产生更温和、更有效的过程。为了克服与复杂分子形成相关的一些挑战，我们的研究开发了一种清洁、温和和有效的方法，通过使用催化从未充分利用的化学原料中生成有价值的化合物，称为酰胺。酰胺类化合物(RCONH2)广泛应用于生物过程的研究以及药物、农用化学品和聚合物的合成。遗憾的是，传统的酰胺形成方法会产生大量的副产品和废物。减少酰胺形成过程中产生的废物量是制药业面临的头号问题，最近在一次领先科学家的圆桌会议上强调了这一点。我们的研究试图通过催化活化腈来避免使用浪费的试剂，并导致更有效地合成酰胺。腈是一种含有碳-氮三键的官能团，用于各种碳-碳和碳-氮键的形成反应。这些转变对于我们社会所依赖的一系列化学、制药和原材料的合成至关重要。除了提供更好的获取这些重要化合物的途径外，这种方法还将通过以较低的总成本方便地获得重要化合物，最终使经济、环境和普通公众的日常生活质量受益。

Humankind faces a number of challenges revolving around health, energy, agriculture and the environment. Chemical synthesis is at the heart of the research into these issues as it can deliver the complex compounds required to overcome these challenges. The synthesis of the complex molecules on which we all depend is increasingly a balance between cost and benefit. There is an urgent need to develop novel methods to access these compounds that maximises our resources whilst reducing the overall cost of the process. Finding clean and efficient methods for the formation of added-value compounds from simple low cost starting materials is one of the major challenges facing chemists and chemical engineers. One approach to overcome these challenges that is used extensively in all areas of contemporary synthesis is catalysis. A catalyst is a compound that lowers the energy required to effect a chemical reaction leading to more mild and efficient processes. To overcome some of the challenges associated with complex molecule formation, our research develops a clean, mild and efficient method for the formation of valuable compounds called amides from an underutilised chemical feedstock by using catalysis. Amides (RCONH2) are utilised extensively in the study of biological process as well as in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and polymers. Unfortunately, traditional methods for amide formation produce a significant amount of by-products and waste. Reducing the amount of waste produced during amide formation is the number one problem facing the pharmaceutical industry as recently highlighted at a roundtable discussion of leading scientists.Our research seeks to catalytically activate nitriles to avoid the use of wasteful reagents and lead to a more efficient synthesis of amides. Nitriles are a functional group that contain a carbon-nitrogen triple bond and are used for a variety of carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen bond forming reactions. These sorts of transformations are vital for the synthesis of the range of chemical, pharmaceutical, and raw materials on which our society depends. In addition to providing improved access to these important compounds, this method will ultimately benefit the economy, environment and the day-to-day quality of life of the general public by making important compounds readily available at decreased overall costs.