The goal of this project is the investigation of a novel rearrangement reaction to form carbon-carbon
bonds. Hereby, the reaction conditions shall be mild to assure a broad field of application in organic
chemistry as well as in natural and pharmaceutical product synthesis. Application of a low-cost catalyst
shall allow to conduct this reaction in a resource-saving and efficient manner. This catalytic approach
shall enable us to transform simple starting materials into complex molecules with only little amounts
of reagent.
Hereby, the project is separated into two related yet different areas. In the first part, the above-
mentioned complexity should arise during the rearrangement reaction. This novel type of
rearrangement has never been investigated in depth and we therefore seek to look closely into it
with the emphasis of elucidating the underlying mechanism.
In the second part of the project, the product of a rearrangement reaction shall be subjected to
further complexation. This shall be feasible by application of modern metal-based catalysts. The basis
of such catalysis is known, yet we seek to investigate if their reaction behavior can be translated to
our structural motifs.