Prof. Jake Soper, Georgia Tech

Almost Alchemy: Radical Ligands Facilitate Palladium-Like Coupling Reactions at Manganese, Iron and Cobalt

The remarkable utility of palladium in coupling catalysis derives from its ability to mediate two-electron oxidative addition and reductive elimination steps for selective assembly of carbonâ€"carbon bonds. Cost and toxicity concerns have spurred efforts to replace the precious metals in coupling catalysts with Earth-abundant later first-row metals. Because these metal ions typically exist in oxidation states that vary by only one electron, they are often prone to radical reactions with organic substrates. We have addressed this issue by exploiting the capacity of "non-innocent" redox-active ligands to store and deliver charge for selective two-electron organometallic bond-making and breaking reactions at naturally abundant metal ions. This seminar will present our recent successes in elaborating base metal complexes for palladium-like Câ€"C coupling cycles, including cobalt-catalyzed cross coupling of unactivated alkyl halides with organic nucleophiles and manganese-catalyzed aerobic oxidative homocoupling of alkyl-, alkenyl-, alkynl-, and aryl-carbanions.

For more information contact Prof. Charles Liotta (404-894-8222).