Rapid discovery of new metal complexes for bond activation processes

“快速催化剂发现：通往更绿色化学的捷径”化学家通过“绿化”日常物质的制造方式，在保护我们星球的未来方面发挥着重要作用。一种方法是通过使用催化剂来减少化工生产中所需的能源和产生的废物。本研究的目的是发现新的催化剂和新的高通量方法。高通量的合成和筛选使化学家能够快速改变用于组成催化剂的金属和分子，并在研究的早期阶段观察催化剂是比以前的催化剂更好还是更差。因此，一种新的催化剂有望更快地被发现，例如将二氧化碳等废物转化为有用的材料。通过发现新的催化剂，化学家可以满足社会对高质量生活的持续渴望，同时通过新的低能耗工艺和替代原料实现可持续的未来。这项研究对于以高效和可控的方式开发加拿大有限的石化(石油和天然气)资源具有重要意义。从长远来看，这项工作的结果将影响精细化学品的生产，包括我们日益依赖的材料、药品和商品。将研究一系列反应，包括C-N和其他C-X键的催化形成。发现的一些催化剂将使新药物(手性药物)和新材料(通过立体选择性聚合)的开发成为可能。我们还将研究受控和可预测的C-H键活化反应。这些反应一直是全世界有机金属化学研究的主要目标。它们有可能彻底改变合成程序，包括将低成本的碳氢化合物，如甲烷，转化为更高分子量的碳氢化合物、醇、有机酸和胺。

"Rapid catalyst discovery: A short cut to greener chemistry" Chemists have an important role to play in safeguarding the future of our planet by 'greening' the way in which everyday substances are made. One approach to this is to reduce the energy needed and the waste produced in chemical manufacture by using catalysts. The aims of this research are to discover new catalysts and new high-throughput methods. High-throughput synthesis and screening allows the chemist to quickly vary the metal and molecule used to make up the catalyst and also see whether the catalyst is better or worse than previous catalysts at an early stage in the research. So a new catalyst, e.g. for turning a waste product such as carbon dioxide into a useful material, can hopefully be discovered more rapidly. In discovering new catalysts, chemists can meet society's continuing desire for a high quality of life whilst enabling a sustainable future via new lower energy processes and alternative feedstocks.  This research is of importance in exploiting Canada's finite petrochemical (oil and gas) resources in an energy efficient and controlled way. In the long term, the results of this work will impact on the production of fine chemicals including the materials, pharmaceuticals and commodities that we have grown to rely on. A range of reactions will be investigated including the catalytic formation of C-N and other C-X bonds. Some of the catalysts discovered will allow the development of new pharmaceuticals (chiral drugs) and new materials (via stereoselective polymerizations). We will also study controlled and predictable C-H bond activation reactions. These reactions continue to be a primary goal of organometallic chemistry research worldwide. They have the potential to revolutionize synthetic procedures including the transformation of low cost hydrocarbons, such as methane, into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, alcohols, organic acids and amines.