RESEARCH INTERESTS
Our research interest is the application of organocatalysis and photocatalysis in small molecule and polymer synthesis, aiming at the development of sustainable and functional materials.
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Current research projects are directed to the development of organocatalytic (metal-free) polymerization via different mechanisms, for precision synthesis of polymers with sequence, stereo(tacticity)-, temporal-, and spatial-control, with a focus on new catalyst and new catalytic system development. We are also interesed in synthetic methodology development on radical fluorosulfonylation and photoinduced biomass transformation, aiming to develop biodegradable polymers as well as materials for application in energy-related fields.
I. Organocatalytic Polymerization (Stereoselective Polymerization)
With a focus on organocatalyst development for the synthesis of metal-free polymer materials. Several polymerization methods, including organocatalytic radical polymerization, ring-opening polymerization of lactones, cationic polymerization, as well as stereoselective cationic polymerization have been established by employing organocatalysts and metal-free systems developed in this lab.
II. Photocontrolled Polymerization
We are interested in the development of mild, efficient, precise synthetic methods for the construction of polymer materials with additional controls (e.g. temporal, spatial control) via light regulation. We have developed a series of photocatalysts and photocatalytic systems, which could allow the development of photo-controlled metal-free ATRP and RAFT polymerization at a ppm level of catalyst loading, visible light-regulated ring-opening polymerization under neutral conditions, metal-free cationic polymerization with strict temporal control, as well as the [2 + 2] solution photopolymerization of biomass-based monomers, etc.
III. Sulfonyl Fluoride Chemistry
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We are interested in the development of reagents and radical fluorosulfonylation reactions for the synthesis of sulfonyl fluorides, and the application of sulfonyl fluorides and SuFEx chemistry in polymer synthesis and functional material development.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We gratefully acknowledge National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Recruitment Program of Global Experts, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, 100-Talent Project of Fujian, Fuzhou University, Key Laboratory of Molecule Synthesis and Function Discovery (Fujian Province University), and Xiamen University for the financial support.