Topic: The Chemistry of Carbone
Speaker: Professor Ong Tiow-Gan, Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica (Chem Sinica)
Date and time: August 28, 14:00–15:30
Venue: Room 105, #5 Building of SPST
Host: Chou Lien-Yang
Abstract:
Carbones (L→C←L) have emerged recently as a new class of organic molecules featuring carbon (0) directly stabilized by two electron-rich groups (L) through Lewis donor-acceptor interaction. Other mesomeric features can also be understood in terms of allenic or zwitterionic form (see Figure 1). Owing to the peculiar bonding situation and the zero-valent nature of the central atoms, carbones have attracted much attention in the chemical community as NHC alternatives because their strong σ- donating ability broadly impacts transition-metal coordination, small molecule activation, main-group chemistry, redox non-innocent coordination, and catalysis. This presentation will describe the synthetic preparation and chemical properties of the carbone as well as its application toward supporting metallic complexes for catalysis in tandem photoredox, cross-coupling reaction via tandem C-H and C-O bond activation and a new spin in diversifying FLP reactivity with co-modulator benzyl alcohol.
Biography:
Prof. Ong Tiow-Gan is an inorganic chemist who has distinguished himself for his work for non-octet chemical bonding using a “ligand design strategy.” He is currently a Research Fellow and Academic Deputy Director at the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, China, and a joint-appointment Professor at National Taiwan University and the University of Central Florida. Ong’s group is internationally known for their contributions to organometallic chemistry and catalysis, which have led to several key breakthroughs, including: (1) Selective C–H/C–O bond activation, (2) New class of C (0) science, (3) Isolation of unstable dicarbon (C2). Ong’s scientific contributions have been widely recognized at the national and international levels. He has received several prestigious awards, including the University of Ottawa Visiting Research Award (2020), the Outstanding Research Award from the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (2019), and the Academia Sinica Presidential Scholar Program Award (2021 and 2024).