Research & Discoveries
Current Areas of Study
Synthetic Methodologies for Bioactive Molecules
Synthetic methodology development and reaction condition optimization have emerged as an increasingly powerful platform for molecular synthesis, including natural products with complex structures and multiple chiral centers, drug and bioactive compounds and their intermediates. Among them, the transition metal-catalyzed C–H activation occupied a dominating position and has attracted much research interest in the past several decades.
Ref: Chemical Communications, 2022, 58 (9), 1385. Inorganic Chemistry, 2020, 59 (15), 10450. Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2015, 52 (5), 1565. Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2015, 52 (1), 201. Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2014, 51 (6), 1811. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2013, 24, 5431. Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2013, 39, 615. Catalysis Communications, 2012, 38, 1743. Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2012, 38, 1743.
Fluorescent Sensors and Functionalized Biochar Materials
The highly efficient design and synthesis of organic fluorophores and metal-functionalized biochar materials have received extensive attention. They have been widely used in the area of organic fluorescent chemosensors and aqueous toxin trappers. Nowadays, developing molecular probes for detecting different analytes (cations, anions, and/or biomolecules) and functional materials to remove toxic polluents in water has emerged as a new research area and attracted considerable attention in the field of chemosensors and molecule trapping.
Ref: Journal of Environmental Management, 2024, 371, 123227. Science of The Total Environment, 2024, 920, 170978. Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 2018, 5, 3170. Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2014, 40 (4), 1469. Analytical Methods, 2013, 5, 1612. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2009, 73 (5), 789.
Stimuli-responsive Functional Materials
Viologen as one of the redox-responsive units, has been adopted in various polymeric materials and hydrogels, especially in developing artificial molecular muscles. It can easily convert chemical energy to mechanical force under redox conditions. Through rational structure design, the self-healing (via Van der Waals interaction) and reprocessing (via covalently adaptable networks) properties can be introduced to the viologen-based functional materials, to prolong the lifetime and reduce chemical waste.
Ref: The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2024, 89 (19), 13853. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2023, 15 (21), 25134. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2022, 4 (12), 9360. Macromolecules, 2022, 55 (11), 4703. Chem. Commun., 2022, 58, 1358. Organic Materials, 2021, 3 (2), 302. Macromolecular Rapid Communication, 2021, 42 (18), 2100054. Chemical Science, 2020, 11, 10190. Chemical Science, 2020, 11, 10910.
