Transcript Nugget

Compounds of bidentate phosphines with metallocene
backbones: electrochemistry and catalysis.
Chip Nataro, Department of Chemistry, Lafayette College
KOtBu
R
+
R'NH2
Br
P
PdCl2(P P)
THF, 100°C
R = H, Me, CF3
R' = cyclohexyl, hexyl, phenyl
P P = dppf, dppr, dippf, dcpf, dtbpf
R
P
N
H
R'
Catalysts are compounds that can provide
lower energy pathways for important chemical
reactions. In some cases, these catalysts can
be chiral. Chirality has to do with the symmetry
of a molecule. You can think about your left
and right hand, while they are perfect mirror
images of each other, they are different. You
can immediately tell when you try to put a
baseball glove designed for your left hand on
your right hand. The same holds true for many
drugs; a drug has to be the right handedness to
interact with the body in a specific way. To
prepare the proper handedness of a drug in a
cost-effective manner, chiral catalysts must be
used. Our studies are investigate the
properties of compounds that are used in these
sorts of catalytic systems. Our studies will shed
light on why these compounds are effective
catalysts in some cases and not so effective in
other cases.