Umicore in palladium cross-coupling catalysis deal
German company Umicore's precious metals chemistry business unit has signed a licence agreement with the University of New Orleans giving access to cross-coupling technology using palladium N-heterocyclic carbene (Palladium-NHC) catalyst systems developed by Dr Steve Nolan.
Palladium-NHC catalysts are homogeneous palladium catalysts co-ordinated with N-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands, instead of well known phosphine ligands. These catalyst systems show equal or superior reactivity in cross-coupling reactions when compared with most state-of-the-art systems containing elaborate phosphine ligands, Umicore says. Their air and moisture stability and simple reaction protocols make them very easy to use. Palladium-NHC systems thus represent an interesting alternative to phosphine based Palladium catalysis.
The licence includes exclusive rights to Dr Steve Nolan's Palladium-NHC catalyst technologies that have proven to be efficient for cross coupling reactions such as Suzuki, Heck, Kumada or amination reactions. These IP rights broaden Umicore's technology portfolio for cross coupling catalysis. The new catalysts are available at kg scale.