Biomimetic Approaches to Oxidation Catalysis

Abstract:
Selective oxygenation of hydrocarbons is a key reaction in chemical industries. While such industries rely on ready-made oxidants, the side products are hazardous. Despite the great progress in oxidation chemistry over the last century, selective oxidation of hydrocarbons in an environmentally sustainable manner remains an important challenge. In biological systems, metalloenzymes catalyze such oxidation reactions with aerial oxygen. Of various metalloenzymes, the great diversity of nonheme oxygenases makes them a treasure trove for development of oxidation catalysts. Inspired by biological oxidations, can we address these challenges through biomimetic approach? An overview of this approach and some experimental results illustrating its application in catalysis will be presented in the talk.