Cost-Effective Catalysts for Industrial Chemical Applications

Application

A cost-effective catalyst for industrial chemical applications as an alternative to expensive rhodium-dependent dirhodium catalysts.

Key Benefits

Alternative catalysts to dirhodium using a straightforward synthesis process.
Preliminary data show the ability to self-assemble in a similar manner to dirhodium compounds.
Significantly decreased cost compared to dirhodium compounds.

Market Summary

Dirhodium compounds are highly efficient catalysts for diverse reactions with broad use among many industries. They exhibit unique structural rigidity, ease of ligand exchange, open diaxial sites for coordination with Lewis bases, and low oxidation potential. Consequently, dirhodium carboxamidates are efficient and effective catalysts for metal carbene reactions, Lewis acid-catalyzed processes, and chemical oxidations. Rhodium-based catalysts are excessively used in reactions for manufacturing organosilicon compounds. However, rhodium is the least abundant catalyst and the most expensive, about five times that of platinum and more than fifteen times that of palladium. Hence, identifying new catalysts is essential for many consumer and industrial products.

Technical Summary

Researchers at Emory have developed new series of chiral diruthenium catalysts to replace dirhodium catalysts. The inventors confirmed the ligands can self-assemble and exhibit high symmetry corresponding a dirhodium complex. In addition, the complex appears to be an effective catalyst for the enantioselective cyclopropanation and C-H functionalization with donor/acceptor carbene intermediates derived from aryldiazoacetates. Furthermore, the cost of synthesis and production of the diruthenium catalysts is about 1/100th the price of dirhodium catalysts.