[BARAJAN]

hi friends
what are the valuable points about methodologies work in organic chemistry? why so many organic chemists work on methodologies (just by changing only the solvent or simplifying other situation) instead of new synthetic routes?
I have worked on methodology for relatively long time, but now I'm disappointed

[Dan]

Target synthesis is essentially the creative application of existing methodology.

The constant improvement in the efficiency and/or scope of existing methods, as well as the development of new chemical reactions provides a range of new and improved chemical tools that ultimately allow the synthetic chemist to devise more efficient synthetic routes to target compounds.

Research into methodology is vital to advance the field of chemical synthesis, which means it gets funding.

Total synthesis as an academic exercise, i.e. doing it because you can, is not as attractive an investment for funding bodies any more because it has no direct application - so fewer people work on it because there is less money behind it.

[curiouscat]

methodologies (just by changing only the solvent or simplifying other situation) instead of new synthetic routes?

In my opinion people waste too much time on new routes without paying attention to if they are better routes.

There's too much herd behavior: When microwaves came, every reaction is tried and shown to work under microwaves. Same for sonication. Similar for Amberlyst, microreactors, nanochannals,  and various functionalised clays.

I wish people didn't use the solutions in search of problem approach so much.