Darren J. Dixon

Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, UK

Abstract

New catalysts are key for unlocking previously unknown molecular reactivity and unexplored chemical space, as well as governing the 3-dimensional structure of product molecules of interest to chemistry, biology and medicine. In this lecture, new synthetically relevant chemistry linked to two distinct types of catalyst systems will presented. In the first part, recent developments from our group for the direct synthesis of alpha and beta-functionalised amines from amides and lactams via highly chemoselective reductive activation using known and new iridium catalysts will be described. In the second part, recent findings employing bifunctional chiral organosuperbases for accessing various product types, including chiral phosphorous (V) compounds, with high enantioselectivity will be presented. Across both topics, details of the newly arising methodologies as well as their provenance and applications in natural product or drug molecule total synthesis, will be discussed.