• Sir William Ramsay Professor of Chemistry (Chemistry)

telephone: 01413304199
email: Pavel.Kocovsky@glasgow.ac.uk

Research Interests

Research in the Pavel Kocovsky group is focused on organic/organometallic synthesis and mechanisms, includes asymmetric catalysis and synthesis of biologically significant compounds and natural products, and spans from quantum chemistry to electrochemistry. We are mainly interested in the rational design of novel synthetic methods, in particular reactions mediated by transition and non-transition metals. The primary goal in all our work is to devise and make use of synthetic routes that feature new chemistry.

Because of their exceptional steric and electronic properties, transition metal complexes hold tremendous promise for effecting highly selective transformations of organic substrates. The central theme of our research is therefore the utilization of transition and non-transition metals to discover unprecedented reactivity and new transformations for use in organic chemistry. We also hope to learn more about the basic stereochemical and electronic control elements of metal-ligand interactions. Our work is characterized by initial mechanistic studies to uncover processes that can be nurtured into novel reactions. These are then applied to the synthesis of biologically significant molecules.

In the last few years, we have described several novel reactions, using various metallic reagents (Pd, Mo, W, Ru, Ni, Zn, Cu, Tl, and Hg), accomplished a stereo-selective synthesis of strophanthidin (a cardio-active drug), estrone (a female sexual hormone), and tetrahydrocannabinol (an active constituent of marihuana), and designed a series of new chiral ligands for asymmetric, transition metal-catalysed reactions, e.g., NOBIN, MAP, PINDY, VALDY, and PINPHOS, and a new electrochemical sensor to differentiate chiral molecules. In the long term, we wish to expand our activities into the areas of material science. In all our efforts, we aim not just to reach our target molecules but to do so in an original and chemically interesting manner.

Publication Highlights

• "Enantioselective synthesis of 1,2-diarylaziridines by the organocatalytic reductive amination of alpha-chloroketones". A.V. Malkov, S. Stoncius, P. Kocovsky, Angew. Chim. Int. Ed. Engl., 46, 3722-3724 (2007)
• "Organocatalysis with a fluorous tag: Asymmetric reduction of imines with trichlorosilane catalyzed by amino acid-derived formamides". A.V. Malkov, M. Figlus, S. Stoncius, P. Kocovsky, J. Org. Chem., 72, 1315-1325 (2007)
• "Asymmetric Allylic Substitution Catalyzed by C1-Symmetrical Complexes of Molybdenum: Structural Requirements of the Ligand and Stereochemical Course of Reaction". Malkov, A. V.; Starý, I.; Gouriou, L.; Lloyd-Jones, G. C.; Langer, V.; Spoor, P.; Vinader, V.; Kocovský, P., Chem. Eur. J., 12, 6910-6929 (2006).
• "Remote chiral induction in the organocatalytic hydrosilylation of aromatic ketones and ketimines". A.V. Malkov, A.J.P.S. Liddon, P. Ramirez-Lopez, L. Bendova, D. Haigh, P. Kocovsky, Angew. Chim. Int. ed. Engl., 45, 1432-1435 (2006)
• "METHOX - a New Pyridine N-Oxide Organocatalyst for the Asymmetric Allylation of Aldehydes with Allyltrichlorosilanes". Malkov, A. V.; Bell, M.; Castelluzzo, F.; Kocovský, P., Org. Lett., 7, 3219-3222 (2005).

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Teaching

• Level-2 Aromatic Chemistry
• Level-3 Organic Synthesis I
• Level-4 Organometallics in Synthesis

Awards

PhD (Prague), DSc (Leicester)

External Appointments & Positions

• Advisory Board of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic
• Editorial Advisory Boards, Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun., Curr. Org. Chem., and J. Mol. Catal. A
• International Advisory Board of OMCOS (IUPAC)