Prof. T. V. (Babu) Rajan Babu, from the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in Ohio State University, visited our school on October 13, 2014. And he gave us a lecture named as “New Asymmetric Catalytic Methods in Natural Product Synthesis”, and shared his work in this field with us.  

    Prof. T. V. (Babu) Rajan Babu and co-workers have discovered new Ni and Co-based catalytic protocols for a nearly quantitative and highly selective codimerization of ethylene (and propylene), and various functionalized vinylarenes, 1,3-dienes and strained alkenes. He dealt with the development of various strategies for stereochemical control in this reaction. These include design and synthesis of new ligands and applications of the ‘hemi-labile ligand concept’. The products of this reaction are potentially useful for the synthesis of several classes of compounds, especially with intricately placed methyl-bearing chiral centers.