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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Chemical Precipitation Method for the Synthesis of Nb2O5 Modified Bulk Nickel Catalysts with High Specific Surface Area
Published on: February 19, 2018
Solving a Mystery with Classical and Dual Photoredox Catalysis: Application of Nickel in the Synthesis of Ergot
Jan Brauer1, Rainer Wiechert1, Anika Hahn1
1Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
Abstract:
A short synthesis of the ergot alkaloid lysergene and a formal total synthesis of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) under the avoidance of palladium and including two nickel-catalyzed steps instead have been developed. A key intermediate of this approach has already been reported by Hendrickson et al. in 2004 (Hendrickson, J.B. et al. Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 3-5), yet the spectral data do not match, adding to doubts about the course of their route. While the final steps of the Hendrickson synthesis could not be reproduced, we were able to leverage the elusive intermediate.
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