AVVISO DI SEMINARIO

prof. David Milstein

(Department of Organic Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel)

david.milstein@weizmann.ac.il

Design and Applications of Catalytic Reactions for Sustainable Synthesis
and Energy

The design of ”green” synthetic methodology and new approaches to sustainable energy are
major goals of modern catalysis. Traditionally, catalysis by metal complexes has been based on
the reactivity of the metal center, while the ligands bound to it influence its reactivity, but do not
interact directly with the substrate. In recent years, complexes based on “cooperating” ligands
were developed, in which both the metal and a ligand undergo bond making and breaking in key
steps of catalytic cycles, thus providing exciting opportunities for catalytic design.

We have developed a new mode of metal-ligand cooperation, involving ligand aromatization –
dearomatization, which provides a new approach to the selective activation of chemical bonds.
Pincer-type complexes of several transition metals exhibit such cooperation, leading to
fundamentally new, sustainable catalytic reactions, including several reactions which either
produce hydrogen or consume it. Applications in environmentally benign organic synthesis,
advanced biofuels, and hydrogen carriers will be described.

References:
1. Gunanathan, C.; Milstein, D. Accts. Chem. Res. 2011, 44, 588
2. Gunanathan, D.; Milstein D. Science, 2013, 341, 1229712 (review)
3. Balaraman, E.; Khaskin, E.; Leitus, G.; Milstein, D.; Nature Chem. 2013, 5, 122
4. Khusnutinova, J.: Milstein, D. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 12236 (review)
5. Zell, T. Milstein, D. Accts. Chem. Res. 2015, 48, 1979
6. Hu, P.; Fogler, E.; Diskin-Posner Y.; Iron, M.; Milstein D. Nature Comm. 2015, 6, 6859
7. Xie, Y.; Ben-David, Y.; Shimon, L. J. W.: Milstein D. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 139, 9077