Activation et fonctionnalisation de liaisons C-H catalysées par des complexes moléculaires à base de fer

Because of their very low polarity, carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds are particularly difficult to activate. However, their ubiquity in organic molecules makes their activation and functionalization particularly interesting. C-H activation is a key step in synthesis, for applications ranging from the synthesis of natural products to materials science. The main historical advances in this field have been made using catalysts based on noble metals (Ir, Ru, Rh, Os, etc.), often operating at high temperatures. Replacing these scarce and expensive metals with abundant metals such as Fe represents a real scientific challenge.
In this context, the aim of the thesis is to explore the activation and functionalisation of C-H bonds catalyzed by iron-based molecular complexes. The overall objective is not only to address the substitution of noble metals (Ru, Rh, Ir, etc.) commonly used for this transformation, by an abundant and inexpensive metal such as iron, but also to establish reactivity bases for future transformations of interest for IFPEN, such as the functionalization of hydrocarbon substrates or the recycling of polyolefins. A detailed understanding of the reaction network involved in C-H activation will be studied using both a theoretical and experimental approach in order to deduce the optimal active site that will maximize the performance (activity and selectivity) of the catalyst.

Keywords : CH Activation, iron complexes, homogeneous catalysis, mechanism, DFT, CO2 valorization, polyolefins depolymerization.

• Encadrant Académique    Dr. BONTEMPS Sébastien (HDR), groupe Activation de Petites Molécules sebastien.bontemps@lcc-toulouse.fr
• Ecole Doctorale    ED 486 (Science de la matière) - http://www.edsdm.ups-tlse.fr/
• Encadrant IFPEN     Dr. CHAHEN Ludovic, Ingénieur de recherche (PhD), Département de Catalyse Moléculaire, ludovic.chahen@ifpen.fr
• Localisation    Laboratoire de chimie de coordination du CNRS, 205 route de Narbonne, BP 44099 31077 Toulouse cedex 4 France