Organic Synthesis with Zeolites – CHOZE

Organic synthesis, especially multi-step synthesis often relies on numerous stoichiometric and toxic and/or hazardous reagents. In order to ease handling and mostly purifications, reagents as well as neutralizing or scavenger agents have been grafted to organic polymers, leading to the so-called solid phase organic synthesis.
To go further, we would like to develop a new, alternative and complementary approach to the conventional solution-phase and solid-phase organic syntheses, i.e. a third way to perform organic synthesis. This approach, that we call the Zeolite-Phase Organic Synthesis (ZeoPOS), relies on the use of heterogeneous catalysts based on zeolites and related materials to perform organic synthesis within the 'green chemistry' context. Zeolites as well as metal-modified zeolites are indeed heterogeneous catalysts well known for their easy-to-prepare, easy-to-handle and easy-to-recycle features. In addition, these materials are also interesting and useful for their discrimination properties, due to their internal pore system at nano scale.
Through this proposal, we first aim at broadening the zeolite chemistry toolbox to such an extent that we could apply this original approach to total synthesis of natural products, as well as to parallel synthesis of libraries of biologically relevant compounds. Furthermore, we would like to explore the reactivity in such confined media and prove that confinement effects in zeolite cavities could solve some problems of selectivity still encountered in organic synthesis, especially in cyclization and dimerization processes. If successful, this project will open the door to a new way to perform organic synthesis, the ZeoPOS.
After a 2012 proposal (OrSyZe), highly ranked in the ANR evaluation process, we are submitting a more focused proposal with selected sets of zeolitic catalysts (Cu and Ag-zeolites) applied to 4 sets of reactions, 2 for each partner according to their corresponding expertise (ynamide synthesis and (spiro)cyclizations in Strasbourg; aryl ether synthesis and oxidative phenol coupling in Toulouse).