This award is made to Dr. Chao-Jun Li of the Chemistry Department, Tulane University, for investigation of carbon-carbon bond formation in water. The award is in the Technology for Sustainable Environment component of the EPA/NSF Parnership for Environmental Research, and support is provided by the Organic Synthesis Program and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities. Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions are typically carried out using metal catalysts in anhydrous organic solvents. In this study, the synthesis of various biologically important compounds and fine chemicals will be carried out in aqueous medium. The new method will be more efficient since the number of synthetic steps will be reduced. Additional research to attempt to make the reaction catalytic is also planned. Metal recovery and recycling from the aqueous stream will be used to ensure that the new process is environmentally beneficial. The specific reactions to be investigated include indium-promoted allylations, propargylation-allenylations, and aldol reactions. Large volumes of organic solvents are used in fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries for both reactions and product isolation. These solvents must be recycled or treated by costly methods rather than being expelled into the environment. By developing alternative synthetic methods using water as a solvent, the disposal problem for organic solvents can be reduced.
