Prof. Michael Sherburn

Professor Sherburn will give the 2^nd Liebig-College seminar and lectures on 

"Putting the Fun Back Into Fundamental Hydrocarbon Chemistry”

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Synthesis But Were Afraid to Ask"

Abstract Part 1:

The two simplest branched acyclic structures comprising only conjugated C=C units were first reported in 1955 and 1962, respectively. No higher members of the series were described in the literature until we reported them in 2000. Before we prepared them, most “experts” (myself included) considered these structures un-synthesizable. This presentation will describe the modern phase of dendralene–and related p-bond rich hydrocarbon–chemistry.

Reviews: H. Hopf, M. S. Sherburn, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 2298-2338;
M. S. Sherburn, Acc. Chem. Res., 2015, 48, 1961–1970.

Abstract Part 2:

OK, perhaps not everything, but some insights will be offered into the development of new and efficient methods for the preparation of diverse classes of organic compounds with unprecedented structures and important functions.

These findings will be accompanied by an uncompromising critique of the existing strategies and tactics of chemical synthesis; and the (often conflicting) factors that influence modern synthesis design. This presentation will be lightly sprinkled with highly subjective and inflammatory remarks pertaining to future developments in the field.

Examples: S. L. Drew, A. L. Lawrence and M. S. Sherburn Chem. Sci. 2015, 6, 3886 – 3890; C. G. Newton, S. L. Drew, A. L. Lawrence, A. C. Willis, M N. Paddon-Row, M. S. Sherburn Nat. Chem. 2015, 7, 82–86.