Project

Aziridine-based CO2 capture – a new approach toward the synthesis of fluorinated oxazolidinones

Code
3F020919
Duration
01 November 2019 → 25 April 2021
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Organic chemical synthesis
Keywords
oxazolidinones
 
Project description

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide surged to their highest level in 800,000 years. As it is generally acknowledged that a rise in CO2 concentration contributes significantly to global warming, there is a pressing need to address this problem. Whereas climate actions usually focus on a reduction of CO2 production, experts state that research to capture CO2 and to convert it into chemical building blocks and materials deserves high priority as well. However, the development of energy-efficient methodologies for CO2 fixation presents a major challenge, as most of the existing techniques suffer from a high-energy consumption. The deployment of small-ring chemicals could provide new opportunities in that respect, because their high ring strain energy allows for smooth transformations under mild reaction conditions. In addition, given the fact that 85% of FDA-approved drugs contains nitrogen in their structure, the pharmaceutical industry is in continuous demand for new nitrogen building blocks. In particular, there is a high need for fluorinated nitrogen compounds in the framework of drug development programs. In order to address these pertinent challenges, this project will investigate the eligibility of fluorinated small-ring azaheterocycles (such as aziridines) for CO2 capture to conveniently produce fluorinated cyclic carbamates as new nitrogen building blocks for diverse applications (antibiotics,…).