Self-assembling polymeric copper catalyst greatly accelerates 'click reaction'
Friday, October 26, 2012 - 09:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Few recently discovered chemical reactions have proven as powerful as the copper-catalysed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between azides and alkynes—a transformation better known as a 'click reaction'. The process gets its nickname from the robust, reliable way that the azide and the alkyne organic functional groups 'click' together. From materials science to biochemical applications, this dependable method for joining molecules together has been exploited widely in the decade since its discovery. Now, Yoichi Yamada, Shaheen Sarkar and Yasuhiro Uozumi at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute in Wako have developed a new form of heterogeneous copper catalyst that promises to make the click reaction more efficient than ever.