Metal Assisted Transformations

C-H Activation

This project of our group aims at increasing the efficiency of chemical transformations. In context of a complex synthetic sequence this means decreasing the number of functional groups transformed, the number of by-products formed, as well as the total number of steps eventually performed leading to environmentally more benign processes (less waste produced, less energy consumed, etc.). A very successful approach to achieve these goals is C-H activation chemistry.

The ubiquity of C-H bonds in organic molecules makes this approach very attractive, but also very challenging. Since a large number of different but very similar C-H bonds are typically present in a given organic molecule, the challenge of selectively activating a particular C-H bond is an important issue in C-H activation chemistry. Activation of sp2 C-H groups is already a well established method on heterocyclic and carbocyclic systems. On the other hand, transition metal-catalyzed sp3 C-H activation is more difficult and less well established. Finally, the formation of new C-C bonds via sp3 C-H activation in an asymmetric manner is maybe the most challenging task in this field of chemistry. This is one important goal of our group and the topic of the habilitation of Michael Schnürch.

Cross-Coupling

Transition metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are of significant importance in synthetic organic chemistry. These reactions are widely applied in the synthesis of simple building blocks as well as complex compounds such as natural products, organic materials (e.g. liquid crystals), and bioactive compounds. The ambition of this project is to significantly improve the efficiency of synthetic routes including multiple transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling steps on 5- and 6-membered heterocyclic systems by combining those cross-coupling reactions in one pot.