New Technologies for Catalysis in Water

University Of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

A nanomicelle-forming amphiphile "PTS" has been identified that allows for several Pd- and Ru-catalyzed cross-couplings to take place in water as the only solvent, and at room temperature, in high isolated yields. The new processes include Heck, Suzuki, Sonogashira, and olefin cross-metathesis reactions, where product isolation is especially facile. Several additional studies are planned based on the "micellar effect." The notion of "designer" surfactants applied to organometallic catalysis is advanced in this proposal, and represents a variable essentially overlooked by the synthetic community. This technology also is to be applied to other important cross-couplings, such as aminations and asymmetric additions of hydride to Michael acceptors, all in water at room temperature.