MetalloRadiCat

  This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 864849)  

Title

Metalloradical Catalysis - From Fundamental Studies to Applications

Concept

Most metal-catalysed processes rely on what chemists call 'polar reactivity', where reactions involve the transfer or sharing of two electrons at a time. In the relatively new field of metalloradical catalysis, however, reactions occur with the transfer or sharing of only one electron at a time. While catalysing two-electron polar reactions conventionally relies on rare and expensive metal ions, one-electron metalloradical reactions are accomplished sustainably with catalysts based on abundant and inexpensive transition metals, with applications in fine chemicals, medicine and materials science. The EU-funded MetalloRadiCat project is enhancing understanding of metalloradical reactivity and its associated principles to further rational design of metalloradical catalysts and catalytic processes, particularly with respect to the emerging area of remote functionalisations. The team is focused on novel molecules and functionalities in the context of methane production and activation.