NHC complexes as homogenous catalysts

Research under this field is directed towards design, synthesis and characterization of new NHC-anchored transition metal complexes as homogenous catalysts for organic bond making (C-C, C-N and C-O) and activation (C-F, C-H) processes. This aspect of our interest provides new techniques for the facile synthesis of organic compounds and to facilitate challenging reactions under mild reaction conditions. For example, we have used the observations described above for the development of the first example of a catalytically active system for Suzuki-Miyaura type cross-coupling reactions of perfluorinated arenes such as octafluoro toluene and perfluoro biphenyl with aryl boronic acids (T. Schaub, M. Backes, U. Radius, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 15964–15965). This catalysis combines C-F bond activation step of these substrates efficiently with C-C coupling reactions. We also used the nickel complex for the hydrodefluorination of perfluorinated aromatics and tried to elucidate the mechanism of this catalysis (P. Fischer, K. Götz, A. Eichhorn, U. Radius, Organometallics 2012, 31, 1374–1383).