Developing Catalysts for Improving Direct Amide Formation

The widespread occurrence of the amide functional group in the pharmaceutical industry and its prevalence in biological structures such as proteins illustrate the huge impact that amides have on our daily lives. Current methods of forming amides are expensive and harmful to the environment, so there is a need for the development of greener processes for the formation of amides. The first objective of this research is to synthesize catalysts for the direct formation of amides from carboxylic acids and amines. Previously developed catalysts for this transformation are not active enough, and are thus rarely used. The new catalysts to be synthesized are based on thioureas, which use a novel mode of reactivity to promote the amidation reaction. The second objective is to test these catalysts and compare their reactivity. The third objective is to study the mechanism of direct amide formation. Gaining an understanding of how direct amidation works will make it possible to develop better catalysts for green chemical transformation