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Research Groups

The Messerle Research Group

Directed by Prof. Barbara Messerle

 Prof. Barbara Messerle

Research Interests - Transition Metal Catalysed Transformations of Organic Substrates

Organometallic catalysts are increasingly important in industry for improving the efficiency of chemical processes, and are essential for the efficient syntheses of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. High levels of selectivity and efficiency lead to processes with minimum waste, and minimum energy use.

One of our primary goals is to design novel transition metal complexes which act as catalysts for key synthetic or industrial organic transformations, and to obtain an understanding of how these catalysts work. The aim of much of our research is to improve the efficiency of selected organic transformations

  • We have shown that rhodium and iridium complexes under investigation are efficient catalysts for a range of reactions, including the hydrosilation of alkynes and alkenes; the addition of silanes to alcohols to generate siloxanes; cyclotrimerization of alkynes; and the synthesis of saturated and unsaturated furans. Target transformations include the formation of new C-X (X = N,O,S...) bonds as well as new bonds with Si:
    • Hydroamination, see for example Scheme 1a
    • Hydrothiolation, see for example Scheme 1b
    • Hydroalkoxylation
    • Hydrosilation
    • Hydrogenation

Scheme 1a Scheme 1b

  • Target organic products include (a) pyrroles and indoles, (b) furans, ethers and lactones, (c) sulphur containing compounds, and (d) functionalised hydrosilanes.
  • New approaches to catalysis:
    • Tandem reactions and tandem catalysts - multiple reactions in one pot
    • Combinatorial chemistry for finding the best catalysts efficiently