Bismuth is considered an economical alternative to transition metals. Despite its importance and potential demand, however, related research in Korea is limited. Additionally, challenges such as the instability of allylation systems, the restricted substrate scope, excessive catalyst usage and use of toxic substances need to be addressed before research can be scaled up.

Professor Hanyong Bae aims to implement a versatile asymmetric catalytic system, in part by developing chiral bismuth-organic acid dual complex catalysts. He intends to create stereoselective, sustainable, eco-friendly, low-toxicity allylation methodologies for new chiral α-tertiary amines and thioester-tethered tertiary alcohols. This research will explore water-induced acceleration phenomena and demonstrate their industrial applicability in pharmaceutical and organic material development processes.

This study is expected to realize groundbreaking eco-friendly catalytic reaction processes that will replace conventional toxic transition metals. It is also anticipated to significantly contribute to the synthesis of small-molecule drugs and the efficient expansion of new biomedical technologies.