Bifunctional catalysts for the selective reduction of amides with H2

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Johannes F. Teichert
• Subject Area: Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 516419875

This project aims at the development of bifunctional catalysts for the catalytic reduction of amides with dihydrogen (H2) as terminal reducing agent. In contrast to the state of the art of homogeneous amide hydrogenation catalysts, the catalyst type put forward here consists of a transition metal catalyst that is intrinsically too unreactive to reduce amides and the key reactivity is brought about by a second catalytic unit within the same molecule. This second unit consists of an organocatalyst able to exert hydrogen bonds to the respective amide and thereby activating this substrate in situ. One further advantage of this approach that shall be exploited is that through molecular recognition, particular classes of amides can be selectively addressed and therefore be reduced by the catalyst in the presence of other catalysts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants