Design of new transition metal catalysts for use in industrial and technological processes. The range of ligands includes homo- and heterobidentate or organic molecules with greater coordinating capacity (tri- tetra- pentadentates...) species. Prepared complexes are fully characterized and their catalytic activity is evaluated including functionalized substrate carbonylation (hydroformylation, hydroesterification, and hydrocarboxylation), epoxidation and/or cis-dihydroxylation of olefins, alkylic C-H bond hydroxylation, hydrogenation, hydrogen transfer, carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation, and [2+2+2] cycloaddition processes.
The evaluation of the activity of the prepared complexes together with mechanistic studies of the catalytic processes (using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, ESI-MS) allows the structure of the catalyst to be redesigned with the introduction of new ligands or functional groups to increase the chemical- and regioselectivity. Enantioselective-type processes are also studied through the use of optically pure ligands in the preparation of catalysts.