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Mitsunobu gets a makeover

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Nucleophiles directly substitute alcohols in the Mitsunobu reaction, but the process uses hazardous materials and generates an excessive amount of toxic waste. More than 50 years on from its initial discovery, chemists report a new catalytic version of the reaction, with water as the only by-product.

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Fig. 1: The classic Mitsunobu reaction and the development of a catalytic variant.

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  1. twitter: @AndyMcNally367

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States

    Andy McNally

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  1. Andy McNally
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Correspondence to Andy McNally.

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McNally, A. Mitsunobu gets a makeover. Nat. Chem. 11, 966–967 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0362-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0362-2

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