# Exploiting Interfacial Design for the Electrocatalytic Construction of C-C bonds

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2024 · $385,136

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
 The objective of our research is to access new chemical spaces in drug discovery and development by
reimagining the catalytic conditions for electricity-driven organic transformations. We propose a synthetic
platform to couple every major class of C(sp3) organic halide electrophile with aldehyde and ketones. By fine-
tuning the key electrophile interactions with the electrode material by interfacial design, we propose to forge
C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds with high selectivity and stereoselectivity. Our approach will provide direct and catalytic
access to new chiral alcohol and α,α-difluorobenzylic derivatives, prevalent motifs in several high-profile
pharmaceuticals, from accessible feedstocks. Our synthetic methods will provide complementary and direct
approaches to access (enantio)selective C(sp3)–C(sp3) bonds that are restricted to non-catalytic or multi-step
reactions. Non-catalytic reactions require either the generation of highly reactive reaction intermediates that
degrade bioactive functional groups or the use of expensive and rare elements that limit wide-spread adoption.
In addition to increasing the accessibility to prepare and diversify pharmaceuticals via electrocatalytic C(sp3)–
C(sp3) bond formation, our mechanistic and structural analyses of electrified interfaces will dissect the
fundamental properties that control interfacial reactivity in complex electrosynthetic manifolds. Thus, our program
will reveal how new mechanisms to construct C(sp3)–C(sp3) can be accessed by engaging a recoverable and
infinitely reusable solid electrocatalyst interface; an inherently sustainable synthetic approach that can be readily
adoptable by medicinal chemists.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10890063
- **Project number:** 5R35GM150845-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Anna Wuttig
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $385,136
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10890063

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10890063, Exploiting Interfacial Design for the Electrocatalytic Construction of C-C bonds (5R35GM150845-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10890063. Licensed CC0.

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