Heterogeneous Metal Catalysis for the Environmentally Benign Synthesis of Medicinally Important Scaffolds, Intermediates, and Building Blocks

This account provides a broad overview of the application of solid metal catalysts in synthetic chemistry with a focus on the synthesis of medicinally important scaffolds or building blocks. Heterogeneous catalysis is a fundamental contributor to green or sustainable synthesis. Despite this, many synthetic chemists overwhelmingly focus on homogeneous methods, and due to their unfamiliarity with solid catalysts, many would not consider using them. The primary purpose of this work is to bring solid catalysts and their application possibilities to the attention of synthetic chemists in a format that focuses on reactions, thus building a bridge between the two sides for the benefit of sustainable applications and, eventually, the whole society. The two major parts of this account describe the common types of solid metal catalysts and the applications of these catalysts in sustainable synthesis. The first part gives an overview of the major types of solid metal catalysts, including common hydrogenation catalysts to metal nanoparticles. The second and more extensive part illustrates the use of these catalysts in a thematic order based on reaction types, including hydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, oxidation, metathesis, cross-coupling reactions, and hydroformylation.