Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/F036760/1
Title:	Pure Steric Effects in Organic Chemistry
Principal Investigator:	Watt, Dr C
Other Investigators:	REGAN, Dr A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Manchester, The
Scheme:	Standard Research
Starts:	07 April 2008	Ends:	06 October 2009	Value (£):	161,528
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Physical Organic Chemistry
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 27 Nov 2007 Chemistry Prioritisation Panel (Science) Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Despite tabloid antipathy to chemicals and chemistry, we depend on the availability of synthetic materials, from alloys to agrochemicals, fertilisers to pharmaceuticals, paints to polymers, soaps to semi-conductors, to list but a few. That dependency is probably irreversible, but we can improve the efficiency of the processes by which we select or design these chemicals for their purpose, and then synthesise them. That calls for more reliable prediction of both physical properties and reactivity patterns of compounds from their structures and the conditions to which they are exposed in use. That very practical requirement is at the heart of chemical science, and is the problem addressed by this research, with particular application to the behaviour of organic compounds. Most reactions of organic compounds involve bonding changes at only two or three atoms of a much larger molecule, and the pattern of bonding changes persists when that small set of atoms (the functional group) is transferred to a new molecular framework, often regarded as a substituent at the functionality. However, rates of particular functional group reaction are rarely independent of substituent, and that offers selectivities which are exploited in biological processes and should be exploited in efficient organic synthesis, whether in the laboratory or the plant. In attempting to understand and predict these substituent effects, interactions between substituent and functionality have been separated into those reflecting charge distribution and polarizability of the substituent (electronic effects) and those reflecting its size and shape (steric effects). Although these factors are not fully separable, the recognition of situations where either dominates the variation of reactivity has contributed greatly to progress in this field, and a beautifully simple substituent set which effectively isolates electronic contributions has been available for over 60 years. Regrettably, there has been no corresponding test set of substituents in which the interaction with functionality is recognised as purely steric. This proposal offers a suggestion as to how such a purely steric set might now be chosen and proposes experiments as to its testing and use.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.man.ac.uk