The development of catalytic Mitsunobu reactions

One of the major challenges facing chemists and chemical engineers today is the development of clean, energy efficient processes. Inherent in this problem is the necessity to selectively form chemical bonds under environmentally benign conditions. We propose to develop catalysts which will mediate clean, atom efficient versions of a family of chemical reactions used in academic and industrial laboratories worldwide. These reactions currently produce two molecules of waste for every molecule of product generated. In contrast, the only waste product produced by the proposed catalytic chemistry is water. The proposed research will result in cleaner chemical reactions which will be widely used in academic and industrial laboratories and is fundamentally significant to the fields of catalysis and green chemistry.

The proposed research involves the development of catalytic reactions for the formation of carbon-heteroatom bonds under environmentally benign conditions. Broadly speaking, the new chemistry will reduce the environmental impact of producing fine chemicals by eliminating the waste products formed by an important family of chemical reactions. Given that the existing wasteful protocols are used in academic and industrial laboratories worldwide the work will have considerable environmental and economic impact in both the private sector and academia. The research will be of direct benefit to all scientists involved in the synthesis of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. In the first instance applications of the chemistry for the synthesis of drug candidates will be pursued with pharmaceutical collaborators such as Pfizer, GSK, AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Syngenta. The School of Chemistry has an excellent working relationship with the pharmaceutical industry which was highlighted during the School's RAE feedback. The applicant will ensure that promising catalysts are made available to potential collaborators so that new applications of the chemistry can be investigated. Our dissemination plans, which include publication and participation at national and international chemistry meetings, will ensure that the new chemistry, and its applications, is visible to a wide range of potential users. We believe that proof-of-concept for the new catalytic chemistry can be obtained during the funding period and that our timescales are realistic for a project of this type. The proposed research is fundamentally significant to the fields of catalysis, synthesis and green chemistry and will establish the applicant as being internationally leading in these areas. The School of Chemistry has its own local Business Partnership Unit (BPU) that is responsible for promoting and supporting knowledge exchange (KE) activity within the School. In addition to fostering and supporting links and collaborations with a wide cross section of industry, the unit has a strong track record of delivering KE outcomes and leverages the resources available within the University Technology Transfer Office. Finally, the complex analysis and problem solving skills as well as the synthetic expertise required for a project of this type will enhance the employability of the postdoctoral research staff involved.