A scientist developing ways to use palladium to catalyse reactions that transform the inert carbon-hydrogen bond has won a $500,000 "genius grant" to further her research.

Organometallic chemist Melanie S Sanford is one of 22 MacArthur fellows named this year by the John D & Catherine T MacArthur Foundation.

Ms Sanford, of the University of Michigan, is working on ways to use metal-based agents, primarily palladium, to catalyse reactions that substitute hydrogen in carbon-hydrogen bonds with other atoms or functional groups.

She has developed a mechanism for controlling palladium's activity - high-oxidation state palladium - making practical its application in the laboratory.

"Her methods enable modification of specific carbon bonds in complex molecules, while leaving other carbon bonds unchanged," the MacArthur Foundation explains.

"These advances have significant impact for industrial chemistry, particularly in pharmaceuticals, where introduction of bonds like carbon-fluorine is desirable but frequently challenging in practice."

Speaking to Chemical and Engineering News, Ms Sanford said she was "stunned" to win the grant.

Source:

Chemist Nets ‘Genius Grant’ (20/09/11)

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