Buchwald Research Group

Research in the Buchwald group combines elements of organic synthesis, physical organic chemistry and organometallic chemistry to devise catalytic processes of use in solving problems of fundamental importance. In this way we invent or develop new techniques, determine how they proceed and apply them in a synthetically interesting context. The key to our success has been the extraordinary quality of the coworkers in the research group over the years.

In recent years the group has developed a number of methods that enable synthetic chemists to assemble small molecules in novel ways. Through the discovery of a new class of ligands for palladium-catalyzed methods, we have arrived at excellent catalysts for carbon-nitrogen and carbon-oxygen bond formation, for Suzuki coupling and for the arylation and vinylation of stablized enolates. Further, we have developed copper-catalyzed methods for asymmetric conjugate reduction as well as for carbon-nitrogen and carbon-oxygen bond forming reactions. We continue to examine these and related processes as well as search for new and useful transformations with which to develop the next generation of synthetic methods.