5 - Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung

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Synthetic Organic Chemistry - Overview
Research in the Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry
The primary current objective of the Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry is the
development of new catalytic systems for use in synthetic organic chemistry
(M. T. Reetz, M. W. Haenel, L. J. Gooßen), with additional activities in polymer
chemistry (G. Fink) and coal transformation (M. W. Haenel). Generally, model
reactions are involved, although in other cases specific transformations of real practical
interest are chosen. We attempt to offer new solutions to solving some of the
challenging problems well known in the catalysis community: Maximizing efficiency
and ecological viability. This also includes the exploration of totally new approaches
which may not be efficient in the first instance, but which may lay down the foundation
for future development into practical (and perhaps) industrial processes. All of the
results are derived from basic research, which means that interest in understanding any
significant advancements on a molecular basis constitutes an integral part of the various
projects.
The development of new methods in the area of enantioselective catalysis is of great
academic and practical interest worldwide. Since success in this truly difficult endeavor
is based on experience, intuition, knowledge of reaction mechanisms, and the ability to
utilize molecular modeling and other theoretical methods (and of course trial and
error!), many different approaches and ideas need to be discussed and tested. The
Institute is an ideal forum for this type of research. In addition to efforts from this
Department, several groups in the other Departments are likewise involved, leading to a
lively exchange of ideas and in some cases to collaborations. An obvious approach
concerns the development of novel types of chiral ligands for asymmetric transition
metal catalysis, the guiding lines being kinetics and theoretical analyses based on
MM/QM (in collaboration with the Theory Department). Although in the past the
number of steps involved in the synthesis of a given ligand played no role, the focus is
now on cheap chiral starting materials. The maximum number of synthetic steps which
follow should not exceed two or three. Moreover, novel combinatorial approaches are
being developed and applied (M. T. Reetz).
A completely different strategy in asymmetric catalysis concerns directed evolution as a
means to create enantioselective enzymes for use in synthetic organic chemistry
(M. T. Reetz). This way of approaching enantioselectivity is totally independent of any
structural knowledge of the enzyme or of its mode of catalytic action. Instead, it relies
on Darwinistic principles. This approach was pioneered by the Reetz group in the late