N-Heterocyclic carbene derived frustrated Lewis pairs toward small molecule activation

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) is a reactive molecule which shows surprising reactivity toward various small molecules – such as bond activation of inert compounds. Although NHCs have shown their great reactivity, there still remains a lot of interesting molecules yet to be activated by NHCs. The objective of this project is to elevate the reactivity of NHCs toward various molecules that are inert to NHCs so far. This can be achieved by introducing Lewis acid additive to generate NHC derived frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs). In this FLP, Lewis basic NHC and Lewis acidic additive can act in cooperative way toward inert small molecules. Since the FLP usually shows much greater reactivity than its Lewis acid or Lewis base components alone, introducing Lewis acidic component to the Lewis basic NHCs will enable the activation of noble small molecules.

Faculty Supervisor:

Douglas Stephan

Student:

Partner:

Pohang University of Science and Technology

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Natural Resources; Pharmaceuticals; Other

University:

University of Toronto

Program: