Bifunctional catalysts for enantioselective synthesis

• Applicant: Dr. Dennis Worgull
• Subject Area: Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 243351285

During the research project the synthesis of novel, chiral, bifunctional Lewis-acidic metallcomplexes with pending donors like tert. phosphanes, tert. amines and sec. thiols in their periphery will be persued. These novel hybrid complexes merge the classical concepts of Lewis acid activation with organocatalysis. and function as catalysts in enantioselective reactions of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Dual activation of the substrate by the bifunctional catalyst results in an increased reactivity and selectivity of the examined reactions. Enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions and enantioselective, allylic substitution reactions of Morita-Baylis-Hillman acetates and carbonates function as model reactions for these investigations. The modular catalyst synthesis ensures an efficient screening of structurally and functionally diverse metal complexes. Additionally, the concept of dual activation through bifunctional catalysts should be transferred to enantioselective allylic substitution reactions of Morita-Baylis-Hillman aceates and carbonates.The synthesis of bimetallic complexes containing soft and hard Lewis acids with orthogonal reactivity on basis of bifunctional ligand systems is another major part of this project. These complexes will be examined as catalysts in enantioselective additions of alkynes to carbonyl compounds.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants