Organic Materials Chemistry

This research combines two important fields, functionalized nanomaterials and catalysis. By preparing proline or N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-based monomers and incorporating them into silica-based nanomaterials, greener, reusable, recoverable, heterogeneous organic catalysts are being developed. These new materials offer many advantages over current methods including: reusability as heterogeneous catalysts, control of chiral information by generating chiral microenvironments inside the porous material, thermal and chemical stability and simple synthesis by a modular approach.  The resulting materials will be used as new heterogeneous catalysts in critical asymmetric C-C bond forming reactions that are commonly used in pharmaceutical synthesis, i.e. the aldol and Michael reactions.