Development of Anti-Markovnikov Selective Pd-Catalyzed Olefin Functionalization Reactions

Carbon–nitrogen bonds are common functionalities found throughout organic molecules, including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and organic materials. The selective amination—generation of carbon–nitrogen bonds—of hydrocarbons has been an ongoing challenge to synthetic organic chemists. Professor Hull proposes to develop catalysts that allow for the selective addition of nitrogen atoms to carbon–carbon double bonds such that a single isomeric product is generated. Further, she seeks to expand the methodology to the selective formation of carbon–carbon, carbon–oxygen, and carbon–sulfur bonds. The proposed work will be of great use to synthetic organic chemists by expediting the synthesis of target molecules, while reducing the generation of waste to a single molecule of water. Thus, the proposed research will have both economic and environmental benefits to the field of synthetic organic chemistry.