Xavier Verdaguer, emprenedor en sèrie

Podem dir que Xavier Verdaguer s'ha convertit en un emprenedor en sèrie. Llicenciat en Enginyeria informàtica i arquitectura tècnica per a la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, durant els darrers 15 anys ha fundat diverses empreses d'innovació tecnològica a Silicon Valley, Califòrnia, com ara TMT Factory, Integra Interactive, Innovalley o Seven4seven

Síntesi i aplicacions en catàlisi de lligands P-estereogènics: SIP, MaxPHOS, MaxPHOX

La catàlisi és una eina clau per a la síntesi orgànica. Malgrat els avenços freqüents, existeix encara una demanda de nous lligands i catalitzadors. Dins dels molts lligands existents, destaquen els de tipus fosfina. I dins d'aquests, trobem els que presenten fòsfors quirals. Aquests lligands tenen un gran potencial en catàlisi asimètrica, però un dels inconvenients principals es troba en la seva síntesi. En el nostre grup, hem desenvolupat síntesis eficients per a diferents sintons de fòsfor quirals i usant-los hem dissenyat diversos lligands (SIP, MaxPHOS, MaxPHOX). La coordinació a diferents metalls ha donat lloc a catalitzadors amb els quals hem pogut aconseguir excel·lents resultats en diferents reaccions catalítiques, com ara les cicloaddicions o les hidrogenacions asimètriques.Catalysis is an important tool for organic synthesis. Despite frequent breakthroughs, there is still a need for new ligands and catalysts. Among the numerous ligands, phosphine-type ligands stand out. And within these are the ligands bearing chirality on phosphorus, which have great potential but are challenging to synthesise. In our group we have developed an efficient synthesis for different chiral phosphorous synthons and from these, we designed several ligands (SIP, MaxPHOS, MaxPHOX). Coordination to different metals has given rise to catalysts that afford excellent results in catalytic reactions such as cycloadditions or asymmetric hydrogenations

Ethylene glycol assisted intermolecular Pauson-Khand reaction

The use of ethylene glycol as additive in the N-oxide-promoted intermolecular Pauson-Khand reaction (PKR) has been studied. The addition of 15% ethylene glycol to the reaction mixture consistently increased (from 20% up to 2-4-fold) the reaction yield

Synthesis, coordination study, and catalytic Pauson−Khand reactions of QuinoxP*(CO)4‑μ-alkyne dicobalt complexes

The coordination of the P-stereogenic and sterically demanding bisphosphine QuinoxP* to μ-alkyne dicobalt hexacarbonyl complexes was studied experimentally and computationally. Whereas the coordination occurred exclusively in a chelating fashion, the diastereoselectivity was highly substrate dependent. However, it could be explained from the computed structure and energies of the different coordination modes. The fluxional behavior of these complexes was also studied computationally. Their performance as catalysts for the Pauson−Khand reaction was explored, and outstanding reactivity was observed. Although the asymmetric induction was low to moderate, the stereochemical outcome could be mechanistically rationalized. This report provides promising results in terms of reactivity and mechanistic understanding for further developments of highly active chiral catalysts for intermolecular Pauson−Khand reactions