Faculty
Gen-Qiang Chen obtained his Bachelor‘s degree in Zhengzhou University in 2010，followed by master degree in 2013 and PhD degree in 2015 in Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIOC, CAS) under the supervision of Prof. Min Shi. Then he pursued his Post Doctor study in Southern University of Science and Technology from 2016-2018, during he was supported by the Presidential Excellent Postdoctoral Scholarship of SUSTech. After the Post Doctor study, he was promoted as research asistant professor and became master tutor in Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology.
The winner of the Guangdong Outstanding Youth Fund in 2021. His main research area is the efficient preparation of chiral drugs, a major research topic related to the national economy and people’s livelihood. His major academic achievements include: (1) The design and synthesis of the O-SPINOL framework with a unique structure, leading to the synthesis of a variety of chiral spiro ligands based on this framework. Among them, O-SDP has stood out from other chiral ligands and has been successfully applied in the industrial synthesis of key intermediates of Sacubitril, the best-seller of Novartis, and more than 20 tons of chiral intermediate of Sacubitril has been synthesized with this technology. (2) The asymmetric hydrogenation of challenging substrates such as tetra-substituted unsaturated carboxylic acids, nitrones, oximes, and others. (3) The efficient and enantioselective synthesis of prostaglandins and other drugs such as Sacubitril and Brivaracetam. The main work to be carried out is to develop novel chiral phosphine ligands by regulating the bite angle, electrical properties, and steric hindrance of chiral ligands, aiming to solve challenging problems in the field of asymmetric catalysis. As the first author or (co-) corresponding author, the applicant has published 60 research papers, including 1 in Nat. Chem., 1 in Sci. Adv. 2 in Nat. Commun., 3 in JACS, 4 in Angew. Chem., 1 in CCS Chem. and among others. He has also applied for 22 patents, 2 of which are international patents, and 10 of them have been authorized. In addition, he also serves as reviewer for internationally renowned journals such as Nat. Chem., Nat. Commun., ACS Catal., Chem. Sci., Chem. Commun. and so on.
His research areas include Organic synthesis, Chiral ligands, Asymmetric catalysis, Asymmetric hydrogenation and so on. He mainly works on the design and synthesis of new chiral ligands and their application in asymmetric catalysis.
Selected Publications：
[1] Zong, Y.; Zhang, R.; Ma, B.-D.; Peng, J.; Wu, C.; Zou, X.; Qian, Y.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, Robust, scalable, and highly selective spirocyclic catalysts for industrial hydroformylation and isomerization-hydroformylation. Sci. Adv. 2024, 10, eado9607.
[2] Xu, L.; Yang, T.; Sun, H.; Zeng, J.; Mu, S.; Zhang, X.; Chen, G.-Q.*, Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation and Transfer Hydrogenation of 1,3-Dipolar Nitrones. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202319662.
[3] Du, X.; Zhang, Y.; Yang, T.*; Xiao, Y.; He, J.; Chung, L. W.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, A versatile cobalt catalyst for highly enantioselective hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds. Chem Catal. 2024, 4, 100999.
[4] Wang, F.; Zhang, Z.; Chen, Y.; Ratovelomanana-Vidal, V.; Yu, P.*; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, Stereodivergent Synthesis of Chiral Succinimides via Rh-Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation. Nat. Commun. 2022, 13, 7794.
[5] Wang, F.; Chen, Y.; Yu, P.8; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X., Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Oximes Synergistically Assisted by Lewis and Bronsted Acids. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 17763-17768.
[6] Lin, B.; Yang, T.; Zhang, D.; Zhou, Y.; Wu, L.; Qiu, J.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Che, C.-M.*; Zhang, X.*, Gold-Catalyzed Desymmetric Lactonization of Alkynylmalonic Acids Enabled by Chiral Bifunctional P,N ligands. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202201739.
[7] Zhang, F.; Zeng, J.; Gao, M.; Wang, L.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Lu, Y.; Zhang, X.*, Concise, scalable and enantioselective total synthesis of prostaglandins. Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 692-697.
[8] Wang, F.; Yang, T.; Wu, T.; Zheng, L.-S.; Yin, C.; Shi, Y.; Ye, X.-Y.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of α-Substituted-β-Keto Carbonitriles via Dynamic Kinetic Resolution. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 2477-2483.
[9] Du, X.; Xiao, Y.; Yang, Y.; Duan, Y.-N.; Li, F.; Hu, Q.; Chung, L. W.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, Enantioselective Hydrogenation of tetra-Substituted alpha,beta-Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids Enabled by Cobalt(II) Catalysis: Scope and Mechanistic Insights. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11384-11390.
[10] Du, X.; Xiao, Y.; Huang, J.-M.; Zhang, Y.; Duan, Y.-N.; Wang, H.; Shi, C.; Chen, G.-Q.*; Zhang, X.*, Cobalt-catalyzed highly enantioselective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 3239.
[11] Chen, G.-Q.*; Huang, J.-M.; Lin, B.-J.; Shi, C.; Zhao, L.-Y.; Ma, B.-D.; Ding, X.-B.; Yin, Q.; Zhang, X.*, Highly Enantioselective Hydrogenation of tetra- and tri-Substituted Unsaturated Carboxylic Acids with oxa-Spiro Diphosphine Ligands. CCS Chem. 2020, 2, 468-477.
[12] Chen, G.-Q.; Lin, B.-J.; Huang, J.-M.; Zhao, L.-Y.; Chen, Q.-S.; Jia, S.-P.; Yin, Q.; Zhang, X., Design and Synthesis of Chiral oxa-Spirocyclic Ligands for Ir-Catalyzed Direct Asymmetric Reduction of Bringmann's Lactones with Molecular H2. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 8064-8068.
[13] Chen, G.-Q.; Zhang, X.-N.; Wei, Y.; Tang, X.-Y.; Shi, M., Catalyst-dependent divergent synthesis of pyrroles from 3-alkynyl imine derivatives: A noncarbonylative and carbonylative approach. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 8492-8497.