Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023)

New synthetic methods are required to overcome the limitations of current chemical transformations, making syntheses shorter, greener and more atom economical. The field of flow chemistry is poised to have a transformative effect on the discipline of organic synthesis by enabling chemistries that enhance synthetic efficiency and by providing access to novel reactions and new reactivities. Flow chemistry techniques offer numerous practical advantages over conventional batch methods, such as increased photochemical efficiency, ease of scale-up, combining multiple synthetic steps into a single flow sequence, and enhanced control over reactive intermediates and exothermic reactions, while simultaneously allowing for rapid reaction optimizations and avoiding costly purification procedures. I plan to use the many benefits of flow chemistry to create a toolbox of innovative synthetic methods that will provide chemists with the next generation of strategies for the synthesis of heterocycles and natural products (polyketides), overcoming current limitations. The central theme of my research program is to discover and develop novel C-C bond forming reactions and will be comprised of 2 long-term objectives: (Obj. 1) the discovery and development of flow chemistry methods for the generation of synthetically problematic heterocycles; (Obj. 2) the development of flow photoredox catalysis methods for natural product synthesis and novel reaction discovery. I have further proposed 2 shorter-term goals per objective as a continuation of preliminary results, (5 peer-reviewed manuscripts) and will focus on the discovery and development of flow synthesis methods for: a) The α-functionalization of heterocycles; b) Development of flow photocyclization methods for the synthesis of problematic heterocycles; c) The enhanced assembly of polyketides via the synthesis of α-carbonyl compounds using flow photoredox catalysis; and d) The discovery of novel reactions using flow photoredox catalysis. Through our research program, my HQP and I will develop new methods that provide access to heterocycles and natural products that currently pose synthetic challenges using existing methods, developing new approaches to the synthesis of high-value, complex molecules. The impact and benefit will be to develop new synthetic transformations that will utilize the many advantages of flow chemistry to drastically reduce synthesis costs, allow for greener processing, and enable rapid synthesis, while also providing access to new transformations that are superior to conventional batch methods. Additionally, a strong need exists in industry for trainees that possess high-level competencies in both organic chemistry and enabling synthetic technologies, with my training plan (13+ HQP) directly addressing this gap and producing students that possess this cross-disciplinary skill set that is in high demand.