Synthesis Challenges at Innocentive.com

[Astronuc]

Innocentive.com provides opportunities for those who specialize in synthesis.

See examples at - http://www.innocentive.com/servlets/project/ProjectInfo.po?type=Chemistry&e=mar16_featured

 

[GCT]

Very nice...however definitely not at my level (still have yet to take physical, analytical, even the org. labs-taking org lab I right now, although I've completed both org I and II lecture courses). Perhaps movies or chemtr might be up to the challenge. Some of the challenges are interesting nevertheless.

Such as the challenge number 2242048, A one or two step reaction for direct oxidation of benzene to phenol is needed.

From what I know, benzene itself is susceptible to electrophiic substitutions, a direct oxidation to phenol can pertain to a nucleophilic substitution of benzene. The two reactions which are quite well known involve the meisenheimer complex and the other benzyne, both are completed within 1 or two steps, however not quite direct since a derivative of benzene is required at the beginning of each reaction.

 

[movies]

Yeah, I've looked at the innocentive site before. There was a post doc in my undergrad lab who was working on one of the targets that had a $75k prize attached to it. I don't think he got it done in time though. Most of the molecules on that site are very difficult or address a particular problem in organic synthesis, like the oxidation of benzene to phenol. The tough thing about a lot of them is that people have already been working on these problems for a long time. The companies that post the targets have almost certainly already tried to synthesize these molecules or achieve the transformations, but have met with little or no success.

 

[chem_tr]

It would be a good thing if I had the energy and knowledge to pursue these kind of reactions, but I have never had it.