CRC 858 A06 - Amphiphilic Stannylenes in (Asymmetric) Catalysis

Basic data for this project

Description

In recent years N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have gained enormous interest and importance as ligands in transition metal catalysis and as organocatalysts. In contrast, their heavier analogues, e.g. N-heterocyclic stannylenes (NHSns), have only been investigated with respect to structural characterization. NHSns contain a Sn-atom featuring a Lewis basic sp2-orbital that for example allows the coordination of the stannylene to a metal center. On the other hand they bear an empty Lewis acidic p-orbital. In comparison with NHCs NHSns are generally more electrophilic, thus the empty p-orbital is of higher importance. This inherent amphiphilic character of the Sn-atom, i.e. the simultaneous occurrence of two principle catalytic functionalities, shall be exploited for cooperative catalyses within project A6 for the first time. We try to generate novel NHSns and investigate their properties with regards to cooperative catalytic applications.