Delivering New Catalysts for Molecules and Materials

Molecules that have been designed and prepared by humans, impact on almost every aspect of daily life. For example, some of the major areas in which they are used, include nutrition, clothing, medicines and fuels. It is therefore not surprising that there already exists a great variety of different ways to make the majority of molecules that we need. However, many of the traditional ways of preparing molecules are increasingly at odds with the demands of modern society. For example, environment concerns mean that we now need to be able to make the same molecules without generating unwanted, sometimes toxic, side-products; constraints from the economy mean that we need to be able to make the same molecules at a fraction of the original cost; and dwindling supplies of certain natural resources mean that we need to be able to make the same molecules but start from alternative, more readily available feedstocks. This proposal will develop new catalysts and new catalytic transformations to address many of these challenges. In particular, transition metal catalysis has the ability to deliver new pathways to molecules that are simply not possible using other methods. This is one way that allows new ways of making molecules to be discovered. In addition, catalytic reactions often produce less waste, require less energy and deliver more efficient reactions. In short, catalytic processes can address many of the issues needed to deliver the sustainable preparation of new molecules. The research described in this proposal will deliver new catalysts, and catalytic transformations that will meet the exacting standards needed to become useable processes; they will employ readily available feedstocks, deliver pure products in high yields, be operationally simple to perform and use only small amounts of the actual catalysts. The catalytic processes we are targeting will deliver molecules of intrinsic value. This is achievable by exploring processes that are either amenable to large volume application, for example in the fine chemical or petrochemical industries, or alternatively, ones that operate at smaller volumes but deliver very high value products. These high value products are the types of molecules needed by the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. We will focus on both types of process. We will also begin to apply the developed chemistry to the preparation of new materials, by developing new polymerisation processes. The new materials we hope to prepare have potential applications in bio-medical devices and as new plastics.