SYNTHETIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY @HKU
Research Group of P Chiu
The University of Hong Kong
News Archive
November 20, 2018
Welcome to our postdoc, Dr. Stephan Scheeff!
Stephan completed his Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of Bonn, Germany, with Prof. Dirk Menche. Welcome!
November 08, 2018
Congratulations to Zengsheng and Yun for their new review paper in Chemical Society Reviews!
Title: Applications of (4+3) Cycloaddition Strategies to the Synthesis of Natural Products
Abstract: (4+3) Cycloadditions and its variants have been widely applied in synthesis. In this review article, we summarize some of more recent applications of (4+3) cycloadditions, including formal (4+3) cycloadditions, in the synthesis of natural products. Many of these natural product targets have cycloheptanoid frameworks for which the (4+3) cycloaddition is a convergent strategy for their assembly. Some natural product targets do not possess seven membered rings, and their syntheses have exploited the functional group endowed (4+3) cycloadducts resulting from these reactions, highlighting the utility of this methodology for the synthesis of many kinds of complex molecules.
October 17, 2018
Welcome Kevin Kong, Laidlaw Scholar!
October 02, 2018
Congratulations to Ignatius Ip and Yufen Zheng for the Best TA awards in 2018!
Ignatius has been the Tutor for CHEM2441. Yufen has been demonstrating CHEM4443.
September 03, 2018
Welcome Fan Hu and Yongjie Shi as the newest members to join the PC group!
September 03, 2018
Welcome Tommy Kwan and Ken Cheung as FYP students in the PC group!
August 15, 2018
Welcome summer student, Mariam Yusuf, Laidlaw Scholar!
Mariam is a Laidlaw Scholar from University College London UK. The Laidlaw Scholar program is a special exchange between UCL and HKU. Mariam's major is in medicinal chemistry. She will be working with the PC group August 7-September 13. Welcome!
July 11, 2018
Welcome summer students: Ken Cheung, Alvin Chu, Tommy Kwan, Vincent Lau, Nicholas Yeung!
Our summer students from HKU will be in the lab July 11- August 30. Welcome!
May 21, 2018
Welcome Aishanee Sur to the PC group as a Summer Intern!
Aishanee is an IIT Bombay MSc student and will intern in our group from May 21-July 14. Welcome!
May 10, 2018
Congratulations to Karen for her new paper in Angewandte Chemie!
Title: Intramolecular (4+3) Cycloadditions of Pyrroles and Application to the Synthesis of the Core of Class II Galbulimima Alkaloids
Abstract: The first intramolecular (4+3) cycloadditions with pyrroles to generate optically-enriched cycloadducts having the nortropane substructure occurred in good yields with epoxy enolsilanes as electrophiles. Using this pyrrole cycloaddition as the key step, we have achieved the asymmetric synthesis of the BCDEF rings common to the Class II galbulimima alkaloids.
March 20, 2018
Congratulations to Elvis for his new paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society!
Title: Synthesis and Applications of Unquaternized C-bound Boron Enolates
Abstract: A general and facile method to prepare unquaternized C-bound boron enolates by a ligand-controlled O-to-C isomerization is reported. Using this protocol, C-bound pinacolboron enolates have been isolated in pure form for the first time, and have been fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. In contrast to the general perception, such C-boron enolates are stable without coordinative saturation at the boron. Moreover, C-boron enolates present reactivities that are distinct from the O-boron enolates, and their applications in C‒O and C‒C bond formations are demonstrated.
January 04, 2018
Congratulations to Yu Chen and Diana Chan for their new paper in Chemistry-A European Journal!
Title: Transannular [4+3] Cycloadditions of Macrocyclic Epoxy Ketones
Abstract: Transannular [4+3] cycloadditions of dienophiles derived from macrocyclic epoxy ketones produce fused ring systems having central cycloheptane subunits. In some cases, base directly induced cycloisomerization of the epoxy ketones to yield the cycloadducts; in others, the epoxy ketones were transformed into their corresponding enolsilanes before undergoing cycloaddition. Enantiomerically-enriched tricyclic arrays are obtained from cycloadditions starting from optically pure epoxy ketones.
October 16, 2017
Congratulations to Diana Chan for obtaining a Postdoctoral Position at University College London!
Diana will be working with Dr. Mike Porter at UCL in London, UK.
August 14, 2017
Welcome Yun He to the PC group!
Yun is originally from Chengdu China. He studied his BSc in chemistry at the USTC, Hefei, China
August 11, 2017
Title: Rearrangements of alpha-diazo-beta-hydroxyketones for the synthesis of bicyclo[m.n.1]alkanones
Abstract: Rhodium-catalyzed decomposition of fused bicyclic a-diazo-b-hydroxyketones results in good yields of bridged bicyclo[m.n.1]ketones via a rearrangement pathway.
August 10, 2017
Congratulations to Ignatius Ip and Siyuan Guo for the Best TA awards in 2017!
Ignatius has been the Tutor for CHEM2441. Siyuan has been demonstrating CHEM3443.