Friday, September 16th, 2016
3:30 p.m. in Olin 04
Buck Taylor: How to Use Computers to Understand Chemical Reactivity: Palladium-Catalyzed C–H Activation and Cross-Coupling
A major challenge in organic chemistry is the synthesis of useful products from cheap, readily available starting materials. To do this, organic chemists need a wide range of versatile and selective reactions, which requires an understanding of the underlying reaction mechanisms. This talk will discuss a computational study of palladium catalysts that selectively functionalize allylic C–H bonds, highlighting the role of ligands in controlling regioselectivity. The presentation will also describe the basic steps needed to use computer modeling to study organic reaction mechanisms and highlight some recent findings in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling.