RUI: Leveraging Coinage Metals for Carbon-Nitrogen and Carbon-Phosphorous Bond Formation

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Anna Wenzel of Scripps College is studying transition-metal complexes to catalyze reactions in alkenes, addressing the needs of the pharmaceutical and agrichemical industries. The hydroamination of alkenes is one of the most important synthetic targets, as it can provide an economical route to the amines used in life-sciences industries. With amine production predicted to grow to USD $26.7 billion by 2030, the catalysts proposed in this project are designed to address the recognized need for safe, readily available, and robust systems for use in drug and materials design. This project is well-positioned to address student training in STEM by building essential skills. With the support of the Chemical Catalysis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Anna Wenzel of Scripps College is studying the use of coinage metals, copper and silver, for the development of catalytic systems for the addition of N-H and P-H to olefins. The use of copper and silver in the intermolecular asymmetric hydroamination of alkenes, particularly in the anti-Markovnikov sense, remains underdeveloped and will provide a wealth of fundamental information. Chiral complexes will be designed to develop asymmetric variants of these reactions. These protocols will then be used for the analogous preparation of organophosphorus compounds via the hydrophosphorylation and hydrophosphinylation of alkenes. Through a robust training program for undergraduate researchers, this project will fulfill the NSF's strategic plan of advancing science and educating future STEM professionals. It will assess the efficacy of the inquiry-based learning strategies employed in Professor Wenzel’s laboratory to identify methods that best achieve this goal. In addition, Professor Wenzel’s effective use of mentorship to prevent post-baccalaureate attrition from the sciences will continue to be implemented. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.