Current Research and Principal Research Interests
1-1. Development of Environmentally-Benign Cross-Coupling Reactions
Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have been recognized as highly useful tools for the syntheses of pi-conjugated molecules. However, the conventional cross-coupling method has the following weak points: 1) the formation of stoichiometric amounts of salt-wastes is usually involved and 2) starting materials such as aromatic halides and arylmetal reagents are not always readily available. This work targets the development of environmentally-benign, waste-free dehydrogenative cross-coupling reactions of widely available aromatic hydrocarbons with unsaturated compounds under air. New catalyst systems consisting of rhodium or ruthenium complexes for the dehydrogenative cross-coupling have already been developed.