Earth-Abundant Metal Catalysis

Organizers: Neil Strotman, Director, Catalysis and LCS, Merck; Brad Gates, Principal Research Scientist I, AbbVie

Earth-abundant metal catalysis is touted for its inherent sustainability, and the advantages of low toxicity and minimal environmental impact versus heavy metal catalysis.  What is often overlooked is the diversity of transformations which can be affected by earth-abundant metals, beyond those of their precious metal counterparts.  Earth-abundant metals, by virtue of their placement on the periodic table, have access to more oxidation states, and can often participate in one electron chemistry.  This opportunity for more numerous catalytically relevant oxidation states for a given metal allows for greater variety in chemical transformations.  This highly active field of research continues to grow and evolve as new catalyst systems succeed in not only supplanting less abundant metals with greener alternatives, but in offering novel reactivity giving rise to greater chemical space.