Catalysis for a sustainable world
Catalysis is a fundamental process in the production of industrial chemicals. In this process, a catalyst is introduced to speed the rate of the reaction, shortening the route to obtain the desired product.
However, metals used as catalysts are often rare – thus expensive – and pollutant. Beatriz Royo Lab has been working on alternatives using manganese compounds. “Manganese the third most abundant transitional metal on Earth and has a nontoxic nature”, explains Royo. Their most recent work shows these compounds can substitute noble metals such as rhodium and iridium as catalysts for reduction of sulfoxides used by the pharmaceutical and other industries. The paper was published in ChemCatChem Catalysis Journal, on a special issue dedicated to Women of Catalysis. The issue celebrates the achievements of female-led research groups in the field of catalysis, and published only invited papers.
Royo’s team has shown for the first time that a well-defined Manganese complex, Manganese N-Heterocyclic Carbene, can be used as a Catalyst for the reduction of sulfoxides with silanes. The reduction is performed under air, and uses the cheap and readily available 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane as reducing agent. The organic sulfides prepared by this method are valuable intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, the disclosed methodology can be further extended to the reduction of other functional groups, such as esters and carboxylic acids.
ChemCatChem | doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201900662
A Manganese N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyst for Reduction of Sulfoxides with Silanes
Sara C. A. Sousa, Carlos J. Carrasco, Mara F. Pinto, Beatriz Royo*
Image: Manganese. credit: Tomihahndorf [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
