Biographical Sketch:

Gerard van Koten began his studies at Utrecht University (UU) in 1960 and completed his M.Sc. degree in Chemistry 1967 with specializations in mass spectrometry (with Dr. Hans de Ridder) and metal-mediated organic synthesis (Prof. G. Joop M. van der Kerk). His first position as a tenured research scientist at the Institute for Organic Chemistry of the TNO and during this period at the TNO Institute, he completed his PhD degree (summa cum laude) at UU (1974, Prof. van der Kerk, director and thesis supervisor, and Dr. J.G. Noltes, group leader). In 1977, he accepted a tenured Associate Professor position in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Amsterdam working with Prof. Kees Vrieze. In 1984, he was appointed professor (a personal Chair) in Organometallic Chemistry and in 1986 he accepted an offer of the Chair of Organic Chemistry and Catalysis at the Utrecht University.

Abstract:

Copper salt-mediated and copper catalyzed C-X bond forming reactions (X = C, O or N) have been developed since 19th Century. However, it was not until the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that the first pure organocopper(I) compounds, that are also stable at room temperature, were isolated and structurally characterized. Recently, by the application of clever design and new synthetic approaches, even organocopper(II) and (III) compounds have been isolated, species that during the greater part of last century were considered elusive. In this lecture, the various stages along which organocopper chemistry developed, with a steadily pace, will be highlighted. Special attention will be paid to a discussion of the structural features of polynuclear organocopper(I) compounds in the solid state and in solution. The tailored construction of copper aggregates (including cuprate type species) with mixed anionic (organo, halide, thiolate, carboxylate, cyanide, etc.) groupings, making use of the supramolecular behavior of the aggregates, will be discussed.