T3: Synthesis College.
Aim: to promote the development of synthesis in a way aligned to the Dial-a-Molecule Grand Challenge and maximize its industrial impact.
3.1 Synthesis College will increase industrial (and industrially leveraged) funding for synthesis by working with industry leaders to identify their current and emerging needs.
3.2 Identify possible new reactions with impact to provide challenges for the community. Promote the development of reactions that ‘just work’ (‘1000 click reactions’).
3.3 New methods to rapidly access 3D chemical space. Holistic synthesis.
3.4 Sustainable catalysis.
3.5 Reagentless synthesis (electrochem., photochem., thermal, mechanical).
3.6 Develop the use of bio- and synbio- technology in synthesis
3.7 Making molecules to make materials
We intend to create new purpose and ambition for synthetic chemistry, raising the level of expectation for molecular construction, such that ‘effective synthesis’ of any target molecule becomes the norm. We need to improve the flow of information between academia and industry so the former develops reactions industry needs, and the later makes rapid use of new chemistry developed. We will work with the evolving ChemSInC consortium of companies. We will argue for funding and publication models that promote the development of reactions (3.3), as well as the discovery of new ones (3.2, 3.4), as important. Biotechnology has good adoption in manufacture, but is little used in routine synthesis laboratories, Synthetic biology has great potential to produce next generation catalysts. A combination of education (of synthetic chemists) and directing research to producing bio- (or synbio-) catalysts more amenable to routine use is needed if the areas are to deliver their potential to D-a-M.
The areas 3.2-3.7 have been identified as useful foci for meetings and discussions.