Photoactive ligands for transformative nickel catalysis

In our modern world, essential substances like medicines, agrochemicals, and many other specialty chemicals are complex organic molecules crafted from commodity chemicals through a series of carefully planned chemical reactions. Cross-couplings are amongst the most useful and heavily used reactions for this purpose and provide facile construction of complex molecules: Think of it as building with Lego bricks: two molecules come together to form a new compound by creating a chemical bond between them. These crucial reactions rely on catalysts to make them happen smoothly. Catalysts are like molecular construction workers that perform a reaction without being used up themselves. Currently, palladium catalysts are the go-to choice for many of these cross-coupling reactions, but they`re expensive and not very eco-friendly due to the scarcity of the noble metal. Nickel, on the other hand, is much more abundant in nature. By using nickel catalysts, we have the potential to make these reactions more sustainable, especially by harnessing sunlight as an energy source instead of relying solely on heat. However, there`s a catch. To make these light-driven reactions work with nickel, we need another molecular construction worker called a photocatalyst, which converts light into chemical energy. This adds complexity and makes the process less versatile compared to using palladium. In addition, light-driven nickel catalysts can only couple a limited set of building blocks, whereas palladium catalysis has a very broad applicability Our project, LIGHTLIGAND, aims to solve these challenges. We`re working on creating new catalysts that combine the function of the nickel catalyst and the photocatalyst in a single molecule. This means fewer components, less complexity, and greater control over the reactions of interest. Our blueprint for these catalysts includes design principles that will allow us to fine-tune their activity through molecular modifications to harness challenging building blocks that are currently not applicable for such cross-couplings. With these innovative catalysts, we hope to unlock the full potential of light-driven synthesis, making the production of important chemicals more sustainable for the future.

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