The overarching aim of this theme is to minimise the number of chemicals, solvents, and processing steps required to construct complex molecules used in the development of new medicines. Our approach combines expertise in organic synthesis, mechanistic chemistry, spectroscopy and sustainability. The initial research focus is in two areas: (i) developing mechanistic insight into C-C bond forming reactions via C-H activation to support the Next Generation Synthesis & Catalysis theme; and (ii) using flow electrochemistry to generate highly reactive intermediates enabling efficient allylic oxidations.
Progress to date includes:
• A key reactive intermediate has been probed using fast time-resolved spectroscopy to elucidate its kinetics of formation and decay.
• Enhanced mechanistic understanding of an electrochemically-mediated allylic oxidation, utilising a previously reported TEMPO/ionic liquid system, enabling this emerging methodology to be applied to molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.
People
