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Green-chemistry researchers at 看片视频 University have discovered a way to use water as a solvent in one of the reactions most widely used to synthesize chemical products and pharmaceuticals.

The findings, published June 26 in Nature Communications, mark a potential milestone in efforts to develop organic reactions in water.

Chao-Jun Li and Feng Zhou of 看片视频鈥檚 Department of Chemistry report that they have discovered a catalytic system which for the first time allows direct metal-mediated reactions between aryl halides and carbonyl compounds in water.

For the past two decades, researchers have been exploring ways to do away with chemists鈥� traditional reliance on non-renewable petrochemical feedstocks and toxic solvents. One important method has involved replacing the toxic solvents used in metal-mediated reactions with water 鈥� something that was previously considered impossible.

While researchers at 看片视频 and elsewhere have succeeded in using water in metal-mediated reactions between carbonyl compounds and other halides, attempts to do so for the most challenging reaction, between aryl halides and carbonyl compounds, have never worked 鈥� until now.

Prof. Li and Dr. Zhou, a postdoctoral fellow, found that rhodium -- a metal primarily used in the catalytic converters of automobiles -- as a catalyst together with zinc as a mediator can make the reaction possible in water. This new technique bypasses a number of challenges posed by conventional practices in carrying out this reaction, which is widely used in synthesizing fine chemicals, biologically active molecules and pharmaceuticals. Traditional methods, discovered more than a century ago, require that moisture and air be carefully excluded from the process.

The new aqueous approach promises to 鈥渟treamline synthetic sequences and make them safer and more efficient,鈥� said Prof. Li, Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry.

The research was supported by the Canada Research Chairs program, the Fonds de recherche du Qu茅bec 鈥� Nature et technologies, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

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鈥淭he Barbier-Grignard-Type Carbonyl Arylation Using Unactivated Aryl Halides in Water鈥�, Feng Zhou and Chao-Jun Li, Nature Communications, published June 26, 2014.

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