We are interested in the development of new catalytic processes in which multiple products can be generated from a common precursor through catalyst variation. This work has two major benefits: 1) by generating multiple products from a single starting material, the synthesis of potentially valuable compounds can be signifricantly streamlined; 2) we believe that challenging ourselves to uncover new catalyst selective synthetic methods is an effective way to inspire the discovery of new reactions and deliver new insight in catalytic processes.
The best illustration of this can be found in our 2016 publication entitled: Selective Synthesis of Six Products from a Single Indolyl α-Diazocarbonyl Precursor. The essence of work is in illustrated in the art work below; much as a single light source can be split into an array of colours with different visible properties, for example in a rainbow, we have been able to apply this concept chemically, to generate an array of 6 products with diverse chemical properties from a single precursor.