Associate Professor Chris Pigge has received a grant from the National Science Foundation for $579K to explore development of new transition metal catalysts for use in organic synthesis. Funds from the NSF will be used to support undergraduate and graduate student co-workers who will receive training in catalyst design as well as organic and organometallic synthesis. 

Broadly applicable and highly active catalysts are essential tools in synthetic chemistry needed for efficient construction of important bioactive molecules and pharmaceuticals, as well as functional materials with wide-ranging applications.  The reactivity of metal catalysts is influenced by supporting ligands, and this project seeks to discover more reactive catalysts by incorporating novel electron-donating ligands into catalytically relevant organometallic complexes.  These new ligands coordinate catalytically active metal centers (such as palladium, rhodium, and gold) by forming carbon-metal bonds, and these interactions provide a means to enhance and fine-tune catalyst reactivity.